The Aftermath of Honesty
by NewName.NewGame.Stillme2482
Summary: Sequel to The Truth of Twenty Questions. The game is over and they are together but now they have to deal with the rest of the world. That includes the dreaded ex's. They can only hide in the bedroom for so long.
1. Chapter 1

Aftermath of Truth

Chapter 1

"What now Elena?" Damon asked expectantly. She could she the worry in his eyes and it aggravated her. He should know that this didn't affect anything for her, but she understood his insecurity. She would have felt the same if Katherine had walked through the door.

She ignored Damon's question and looked at Stefan coldly, "What do you want Stefan?" she asked, obviously unhappy with his sudden presence. "Elena, I came back to see you. I missed you" Stefan explained not caring when Damon left the room and walked back upstairs to dress quickly and bring Elena clothes. Damon was back in seconds, handing her jeans. She placed them on the kitchen counter, "I need to clean this up" she cautiously walked to the pantry to clean up the shattered glass from the milk she dropped. She bent over to sweep up the glass and both men could see her ass where Damon's shirt didn't cover.

"Elena, could you put the jeans on first? You really are leaving little to the imagination back here" Damon asked, pissed that his brother could see her. This was supposed to be their alone time and Stefan was ruining it.

"Nothing I haven't seen before" Stefan quipped with a smirk causing Damon to growl warningly at him. "Nothing I haven't seen recently" Damon retorted back reminding everyone in the room of Elena and Damon's activities minutes before Stefan's interruption, Stefan's face fell at the reminder.

"God damn it, both of you stop" Elena yelled while pulling her jeans on, forgetting about the glass on the floor and cutting her feet. "Ouch, fuck" she cursed in pain. The scent of her blood quickly filled the room and Damon jumped into action picking up Elena and carrying her to the living room, pushing past Stefan.

"Out" was all Damon said to him. Damon could feel his brother stiffen the second the glass had pierced the skin of her feet. He was immediately worried for her safety; between the blood lust and the scene placed in front of them, it wouldn't take much more for Stefan to react violently. Damon grabbed a rag and started to tend to Elena's cuts, her aggravation caused her to wave him off. She needed to do something to take her mind off of the current situation they were placed in.

"What are you really doing here Stefan? It's been three months since you took off on me and I'm not stupid enough to believe that all of a sudden you miss me now" she asked, not buying any of his bullshit. "What is it Stefan? Does Katherine want something from us? Oh I know, you figured that Damon and I would be happy by now so you figured you would show up with that poisonous bitch to try and fuck everything up" she pretended to contemplate, she had never been more frustrated.

"Elena, what makes you think I have any idea where Katherine is?" he asked.

"Oh, don't play dumb little brother" Damon piped up, watching his brother squirm under Elena's accusatory glare was making him feel better about the situation. "Just spit it out Stefan, we would like to get back to what you rudely interrupted as quickly as possible and you are wasting our time" Damon taunted causing Elena to give him a small smile.

"Wow that's disgusting" Stefan murmured to himself causing the couple to glare at him.

"Thinking about what you gave up Stefan? Am I going to get an explanation for your sudden disappearance or not?" Elena taunted taking a page out of Damon's book. Stefan was lost. He didn't recognize the woman before him, the one he had loved so much had become a female version of his brother, he had to bring out the one her loved that was buried inside her.

"She threatened you Elena. She told me if I didn't leave you, then she would kill you and hold me hostage to watch her suck you dry. I didn't have a choice" he explained quietly, her eyes softened at his confession and Damon tensed again.

"So she is going to come after me? I'm assuming that's what that means if you are coming back" Elena asked suddenly afraid for her life.

"I'm afraid so, but I have a plan Elena. I'm not going to let her anywhere near you" Stefan reassured but she didn't believe him. It had been said many times, if Katherine wanted her dead, then she would be dead. It was only a matter of time. She shivered at the reality of that realization and Stefan tried to take a step forward to comfort her but Damon cut him off, "Oh no little brother. No longer your job" he warned while wrapping his arm around Elena's shoulder, she immediately relaxed into him.

"So you're staying?" Elena asked, receiving an affirmative nod from Stefan as his only response, his eyes avoiding hers. "Okay well let's clear up the elephant in the room then" she started, capturing both brothers undivided attention, "Stefan, you left, without any explanation. I was miserable for a month and a half before I finally reached out to Damon. He helped me get over you and that's exactly what I did. I know you felt like you were making the right decision in leaving but you have to deal with the consequences of that decision. I am with Damon. I love him and we are happy. None of that will be changing just because you are back. I only want to be your friend and even that is going to take some time for me to be comfortable with. I love you Stefan, but I am no longer in love with you. So that is where we stand" Elena explained, Damon face broke into a genuine smile and Stefan avoided all eyes as he nodded and walked up the stairs to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Elena exhaled loudly before pushing herself away from Damon's embrace. She looked over at him with sad eyes and he immediately tensed. "I know that look, what did I do now? I barely said anything" he asked locking eyes with her.

"I'm pissed Damon; you assumed that I would run back to Stefan the minute he walked in the door, even after everything we went through to get where we are. You think it means nothing to me" she explained while standing up, she flinched for a second, forgetting about her cuts but walking up the stairs anyway.

"Elena, that is not true" he said forcefully while following behind her, afraid she would stumble.

"Oh so you didn't think I was going back to him?" she challenged, "because that's not what your body language was saying. You can't lie to me Damon, I know you" her reminder ringing in his head. He thought he had been calm during their encounter with his brother; it was starting to seem scary how well she really did know him.

They walked back into his room and shut the door behind him; she walked straight into the bathroom to grab a towel to clean up her wounds. "Elena…"he started but words seem to escape him, he didn't know how to make her understand. They sat together on the edge of the bed, his eyes avoiding hers.

"Please just talk to me. I want to get it. If it's not you really doubting me then I need to understand what's going on in your mind. Please Damon" she begged. She could physically see him crumble under her gaze, as much as being honest and open with her scared the hell out of him, he actually wanted her to understand.

"I don't doubt you. Honestly. It's just with Stefan… there are a lot of unresolved issues there. He was the perfect brother that got everything handed to him. If Katherine hadn't turned him he would have been a family man, on the council by our father's side. Literally the Mystic Falls poster boy of the late 1800's and I knew that and that was fine. I never wanted any of that. I wanted Katherine and eternity, and he took that from me, or so I thought. Fast forward to now, and I can see us being very happy together. I love you so much it's scary. But you didn't see how you were when he took off on you. He did some damage that scared the hell out of me. Then he just waltzed back in, I didn't know what to expect" he explained and Elena's whole face softened.  
"Oh my god, you were scared of losing me" she realized, he avoided her eyes. Being scared was not something he liked to admit but with Elena it was a common emotion.

"I haven't been happy in all of my undead life. But then there you were and I was on cloud nine. I figured if anyone had the power to take that from me, it would be Stefan" he murmured, still not looking up at her.

Elena's eyes filled with tears as she placed one hand on each of his cheeks, forcing him to look at her. "I love you, and there is no one in the world that could ever change that. I am yours and I'm not going anywhere" she promised, his beautiful pale blue eyes swallowing her whole. She leaned up and softly placed a kiss to his lips before snuggling her face into his neck, his arms wrapping possessively around her and lightly falling backward onto the bed.

"I love you too. You're it for me, you know that right?" he asked with rubbing up and down her back. She nodded into his neck; "same here" was all she said. They both fully relaxed, happy that everything had worked out so quickly.

After a few minutes Elena raised her head to look at him. "You know, if we keep up this whole talking thing, I think we might be able to make it through anything" she mused with a smile. He smirked, "yes but then where would the make up sex come into play" he joked. She rolled off of him laughing hysterically at his logic.

"I guess you have a point. I mean 50 years down the road we could always make up stuff to fight about specifically for the make up sex" she reasoned and he smiled. She really did love it when he did that; his smile was amazing and as much as she secretly loved his smirk, the smile really did top it all.

"I love the way that mind works" he laughed, rolling over so he was facing her, her body tightly pressed against his side, form fitting.

"Since technically this was our first fight and in theory our only fight, we should probably take advantage of the opportunity for make up sex" she tried to propose in mock seriousness but the second she saw his smirk, a smile broke the tone.

"I told you you wouldn't be able to get enough of me" he seductively whispered into her ear before kissing her neck and licking at her pulse point. A sound Elena had never heard before rumbled through her body, it was like a moan only lower toned. She shivered at the sound and Damon chuckled. The laugh made her feel playful, she wanted to tease him.

"On second thought," she said while wiggling away from him and getting off the bed, "maybe I'll just go take a shower instead" she smiled at the pout that was visible on his lips.

"Why do you torture me woman?" he questioned rolling onto his back on the bed in defeat. She shrugged, "'cause it's fun" she quipped before walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

Without shutting the bathroom door, Elena slowly started to unbutton his shirt before letting it fall to the floor. Then she pulled off her jeans and underwear in one quick movement. She shook out her hair and stepped into the large bathtub.

Damon watched her intently. He was shocked by her attitude; not once did she seem shy during her little strip tease. He was very turned on by her constant confidence. She closed the glass shower door and he watched her frame through it. The water cascaded down her perfect frame and her nipple stiffened at the temperature change; her body was calling to him, but he remained perfectly still on the bed.

Then she poked her head out and looked at him, "Well, are you coming?" she smirked at him before closing the shower door again. He was up in a flash, shedding his jeans and boxers and stepping into the shower with her.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind and bent his head to kiss her shoulder and up to her neck. He nipped at her ear and palmed both breasts while whispering in her ear, "You are evil". She shivered against him and lulled her head backward onto his shoulder, he continued to kiss and lick her neck. "I've never heard that one before" she answered in mock innocence, "how am I evil? I would love to have it explained to me by an expert" she challenged, trying not to let him see how deeply she was affected by his movements.

He lightly bit her neck, his slightly extended fangs gently scraping her skin, she moaned. In that moment, she wanted him to bite her and that realization shocked her. "Well" he started to explain, bringing her mentally back to the present, "you like to pretend to be shy or innocent and then you do something as sexy as getting me all riled up and then walking away. Then the strip tease and the glass shower door, making me watch you aroused. It's all very naughty" he explained as his hands traveled from where they were palming her breasts to down her stomach and to her thighs. Then he ran his hands up her sides slowly, gently brushing the sides of her breasts. He was teasing now and it was driving her crazy.

"That doesn't sound evil, that just sounds horny" she countered softly and he chuckled. "I knew I was going to create a monster" he responded as her turned around in his embrace. She pushed herself tightly against him and pulled him with her into the warm spray of the shower. She leaned forward and gently bit his neck; she immediately felt his lower region stiffen at the act. She lightly scrapped her nails down his back while lifting up her head to look up into his eyes. He watched her intently, she exhaled at his gaze, he looked at her like she hung the moon, like she was his salvation. In reality, she was.

He turned them sideway and lifted her up, she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. "I have a confession" Elena said as soon as her back hit the shower wall, "when I felt your fangs a few minutes ago, I wanted you to bite me" she whispered while moving forward to place her forehead against his. If he hadn't been a vampire, he probably wouldn't have heard her confession over the sound of the water hitting their sides. He pulled his face away from hers to get a better look at her expression before answering, "Elena, I don't want you to feel like this has to happen just because you are human and I'm a vampire. You aren't food" he explained, never denying his urge to bite her. Earlier that night when they made love, Damon had been very tempted to bite her. He knew exactly how to do it so it would heighten the intensity of her orgasm but he wanted to talk to her about it first.

"I know I'm not food to you, but I want you too. I can't explain why, my body just craves it. Kinda like how it craves you" she whispered in his ear, causing him to shiver and kiss her hard. They both felt no need to continue this conversation; they needed each other, no words needed. Her last statement had made him painfully hard and he couldn't wait any longer. Damon reached down between them and found her clit. Expertly, he rolled it with his thumb causing her whole body to stiffen. She shook her head, "no prep needed baby, just take me" she whispered. With that he thrust himself into her, filling her to the hilt. She screamed his name and the sound echoed off the walls of the shower.

Elena rocked her hips around him causing him to growl at her. She enjoyed the power she had over him in these moments when she did something he didn't expect. He pounded into her a few times before she leaned forward and kissed him with bruising force. Leaning forward caused him to hit a magic spot inside her tight sheath and she moaned into his mouth. She pulled away and moved her mouth to his neck, lick and sucking underneath his ear before panting "Damon, please. So close. Bite me. Please".

He continued to pull all the way out of her before slamming back in completely filling her. Then she felt her walls start to clench around him and he twitched inside of her in response. He moved his mouth right above where her neck meets her shoulder, feeling her heavily thumping pulse. His fangs elongated and pierced her soft skin. Elena felt no pain from the bite as her whole body spasmed violently in orgasm. Her head floated as she felt him gently draw her blood. She never wanted him to stop. Damon moaned into her neck before withdrawing his fangs and thrusting one last time to spill his seed deep inside her. He moved to look into her eyes and she looked down at his mouth, still covered in her blood. She leaned up and gently kissed him, licking her blood off of his lips.

For the first time in all of Damon's insanely long life, he left accepted, like being a vampire didn't really matter. He eyes held such unconditional love and he never wanted to look away. The woman in his arms had completely altered him as a person, he would never be the same and he was okay with it.

Elena reached over and turned off the now cold shower. Not really seeing the point in the spray anymore, they had been ignoring it anyway. She unwrapped her legs from his hips and stumbled slightly before finding her balance and walking out of the shower. He followed her out of the shower and found towels for them under the sink. Elena walked into the bedroom and flung herself onto the bed. He laughed at her facial expression. "What are you laughing at?" she asked playfully. He laid down next to her, "Oh nothing, just your present state. The term 'well fucked' comes to mind" he explained. She really did look completely dazed and satisfied. Elena curled up into a ball and started laughing hysterically.

"I guess that would be a way to describe me right now" She continued to laugh not knowing anything else to say. "How does that cheesecake sound? Cause I'm hungry" she asked before getting up to find her clothes. He watched her dress, not wanting her to leave the room but not bold enough to deny her anything. Damon stayed in place on the bed, towel wrapped around his waist as Elena walked out the bedroom door.

Elena walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, stopping in the living room to turn on the stereo. She immediately recognized the song, The Undeveloped Story by Anberlin. She started to sing while walking into the kitchen, "Once in a lifetime, I could feel this way, once in a lifetime, you could feel it too". She reached for the white box holding the cheesecake and placed two pieces on a plate. She turned around to see Stefan leaning up against the counter. She didn't react this time. She wanted her damn cheesecake.

"Okay déjà vu" she said before trying to walk out of the kitchen. Stefan stepped into her way before she could comprehend any of his movements. "Elena, I think we need to talk" he requested while looking longingly into her eyes before taking a step closer to her.

"Stefan, back off" she warned while taking a step back. "I'm pretty sure I made myself clear about where we stand earlier. What could you probably have to talk to me about?" she asked, clearly annoyed that he was ruining her good mood.

"I want to talk about us. I want you to completely understand why I left and what's coming and what I found out" he tried to explain while Elena was doing nothing but looking for an escape route. She really just wanted to call for Damon but she didn't want to cause a fight either. "There is no us Stefan, you made sure of that when you left. The rest can wait until tomorrow" she said trying again to dodge him but he wasn't budging. She was getting really aggravated now. "God damn it. Move. I don't want to deal with you broody bullshit right now. You are killing my post fuck buzz, now fucking move" she yelled in his face affectively shocking him into a frozen position. She ducked around him in the walk way and started to the stairs, cheesecake in hand. She walked into the bedroom to see Damon on his side laughing hysterically. "That was awesome" he stated during gut wrenching laughter. She just laughed and sat beside him with the cheesecake in between them. "He was pissing me off and I wanted my damn cheesecake" she explained with a shy smile.

"God, I love you" was all he said before they dove into the dessert placed in between them on the bed.

A.N. okay, first chapter of the sequel. I really have no idea where I am going with this so bare with me. Ideas would be greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think. The more reviews I get, the faster I update. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to write a review. They mean the world to me.

Thanks- Ashley


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A.N. Wow, I owe you guys a BIG apology. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. Yesterday was the 6th month anniversary of my mother's death and desert season started so I had severe writers block. But, good news, I have a direction for this finally. I can't make it too easy from Elena and Damon to ride off into the sunset together. So, here comes the set up. Again, sorry about abandoning you. I'm working on it. Enjoy.

INSERT LINE

It had been a week since Stefan had come back and nothing had really changed. Every time Elena came over to the Boarding house and Damon wasn't right by her side, Stefan would beg to talk to her. He would plead for the opportunity to make things right and every time Elena would refuse to discuss it and walk away.

The Saturday after he had arrived was Elena's breaking point. Stefan came in the library where Elena was reading peacefully. He knew Damon was off making appearances with the town counsel and wasn't going to be back for a few hours, he had to take this opportunity; it would probably be his last.

"Well are you going to say anything or just continue to stare at me" she asked, not looking up from her battered copy of the Catcher and the Rye. Stefan smiled slightly at her bluntness.

"That depends, are you going to hear me out?" he responded cautiously, hoping the time he gave her to cool off helped her do just that.

She sighed heavily, not really wanting to have this conversation, again. He never told her anything new, he just apologized for leaving and expected her to forgive him without any further explanation. "Fine Stefan, but you better give me some actual information this time, 'cause your constant apologies aren't getting us anywhere".

"I left to help a friend" his face seemed to contort at the word friend, like it was used incorrectly, "she needed my help, she still does. We are all in a lot of danger and we took off to do some research to try and help us understand what we are up against" he started to explain, Elena didn't know what to think, it did seem like something he would do; she wasn't surprised that he had left to protect us, but that wasn't an excuse.

"Who were you helping and what were you guys researching" Elena asked, wanting the whole story. He immediately started shaking his head, "I can't tell you. You will know, soon, I just can't tell you right now" his demeanor immediately turning hard and cold. He was scared, she wasn't sure what he was scared of but it was something big to cause the drastic change in him.

"Okay Stefan, do you have any idea how much time we have before whatever it is comes after us?" she asked, slightly softening her attitude towards him. "I have no idea. It really depends on how you and Damon react to the situation, we are going to have to work as a team" he explained and Elena nodded.

She understood his worry about the three of them working together but she knew they could handle it, "Stefan, we will figure it out when the time comes okay?" he nodded; he knew she was right, they would figure it out. He moved to sit next to her on the couch, softly taking her hand.

"What about the other stuff that needs to be figured out Elena?" he asked meaningfully and Elena withdrew her hand from his grasp, her face immediately souring.

"There is nothing else to figure out; we will deal with the danger as a group. Then we can all go our separate ways. After Damon turns me, we are going to be traveling" she told him forcefully, not caring about his reaction. Before she could understand the movement, Stefan had thrown a lamp against the wall and flipped over a large red chair, breaking it in half.

"You are going to let him turn you? Are you insane? What happens when he gets bored with you? What happens when you can't keep his interest anymore and he leaves you?" he yelled furiously.

"I don't know Stefan, if that ever happens then I will put myself back together just like I did when you left me. I'm pretty good at it by now. I love Damon and Damon loves me and I have you to thank for that. If you hadn't left me without an explanation then I would still be stuck in a failing relationship where I was pretending to be something I wasn't. I would still be getting lied to because you thought you were keeping me safe in the dark and would be constantly sexually frustrated because I never got off" Elena started to yell, finally having enough of his reasoning. "I thought I was in love with you, but what I felt for you pails in comparison to what I feel for Damon. If he ever decided that he wanted someone else then I would let go of him because when you truly love someone, you want them to be happy even if it's not with you" she forcefully told him, trying to send a message, she turned one last time and said "and this will be the last time we have this conversation" before picking up her book and walking out of the room, slamming Damon's bedroom door behind her.

Stefan sat back on the couch, putting his head in his hands in defeat. About 10 minutes later, Damon walked into the room. He immediately assessed the damage and raised his nose in the air, searching for blood. "What did you do Stefan? Where is she?" he growled. Stefan didn't look up, "she's in your room. I would never hurt her" he responded, his voice void of any emotion. Damon glared at him, "No you just destroy furniture to keep yourself from hurting her. But the idea is still there Stefan" he said while walking out of the room and into his bedroom, he visibly relaxed when he saw her sprawled out on his bed, trying to read peacefully like before but obviously agitated.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked quietly and she dropped the book. He sat down next to her on the bed and she immediately crawled into his lap and buried her head in his neck, breathing in his calming scent.

"I'm fine, he is just so infuriating. He knows exactly how to get under my skin" she told him, obviously annoyed. Damon started to rub her back soothingly, trying to hold back the questions that his brain was screaming for answers to.

"Elena, what happened? I walk in and he looks distraught and there is glass all over the floor and a broken chair. Did he hurt you?" he slowly scanned her body for any marks, ready to snap his brother in half if he found anything. She backed away from him and sprawled herself on the bed, physically exhausted from the altercation. "He didn't hurt me. He didn't like my answers to his questions, I said something about you changing me and he snapped, he tried to plant doubt in my head and I let him have it. He knows its over, he just doesn't want to deal with it" she explained and Damon tensed, he was scared of him planting doubt in her head, he couldn't lose her, he was in too deep now.

"What did he say to try and plant doubt?" he asked quickly and Elena exhaled loudly. "Oh same old bullshit as always, that you will get bored with me and take off after you have changed me" she rolled her eyes to try and emphasize how ridiculous it sounded.

"God, he really doesn't get it does he, I couldn't leave you if I tried. And after I change you our connection will be so much stronger that I won't ever be able to let you go" he told her, she immediately rose off the bed to face him.

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I am not worried. Stefan's attempt at brainwashing is nothing for you to worry about. I don't doubt us for a second. He just pisses me off, if he really loved me, he would want me to be happy with or without him" she leaned forward and softly kissed him, she had missed him all day.

"Did he tell you anything about why he is back?" Damon continued, wanting to be filled in on the whole conversation. He noticed her worried expression at his question, she tensed slightly.

"He said he left to help a friend, but he acted like friend was the wrong word to describe the person, then he started to tell me about how they took off to do research so that we know what we are getting ourselves into, but he wouldn't tell me. He says I will know soon so I didn't push it" she filled him in. Damon looked away from her, obviously deep in thought, "who would he be helping and why are all of us in danger along with this person? I don't get it" he murmured to himself.

"I know, it would be so much easier if we knew who he was helping" Elena said quietly. Just then the bedroom door swung open and Damon and Elena looked up in shock.

"Yeah, that would be me" was all they said before Damon jumped into action and Stefan took off into the room to break it up. Elena sat shocked waiting for the inhuman movement to stop.

A.N. Okay chapter 2 is up. Short but it's something. Review please. Love-Ashley


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Minutes passed, but to Elena they seemed like hours. Stefan had wedged his way in between Damon and the new arrival, using all of his strength to keep them apart. "Damon, calm down. Let us explain" Stefan implored, Elena snorted on the bed. The room stopped moving at the sound, and Elena snapped, "You want to explain now. You show up here telling me she forced you to leave me. That she threatened my life and you had no choice but to leave with her. But now she's here and you want us to stop and let you explain" she yelled.

Katherine was the first to respond to Elena's outburst, "Stefan, you have been a busy bee haven't you. Lying to everyone to get back what you lost" she said thoughtfully. Damon tried to charge at her again, still seeing red from her sudden appearance, but Stefan remained blocking his advances. Damon backed up, finally giving up his attack but not anywhere near calm.

"Well baby brother, I think it's time we get the whole story, don't you?"Damon snarled as Stefan nodded in agreement.

Stefan didn't know where to start so Katherine took the reigns, like she always does, "Stefan left to help me. I didn't threaten you Elena, believe me if I was going to kill you. I would have already. He came to help me on his own, I did call him. I warned him that we were all in danger and he went with me to Italy to do some research". Stefan hung his head in shame and Damon was proud of the death glare Elena sent Stefan.

Elena couldn't take it anymore, "then why did you lie and tell me she threatened my life? What do you get out of my fear?"

Damon piped up at that, "He thought your fear would cause you to run right back into his arms. He wanted you to seek his protection" Stefan made no move to defend himself, he looked ridiculously guilty.

Elena threw herself backwards onto the bed, "God are you really that stupid Stefan? You should have known seconds after coming back that that wasn't gonna happen. What were you going to do when Katherine showed up and we're supposed to work together? Just hope I would be so in love with you again that it wouldn't matter that you lied to me, again." She was exasperated. Katherine seemed to find her out burst comical and Damon continued to be proud of her.

Stefan moved to kneel in front of Elena; she sat up on the bed and backed away from him, tucking her legs underneath herself in the middle of the bed. "Katherine gave me a week before she said she was going to show up, that's how much time I had to try and get you back. I had to try. Elena you wouldn't even look at me when I got here. I mean for god sakes you were walking around the house in your underwear and his shirt with sex hair. I had to listen to loud shower sex the night I go back. I'm not proud of the way I reacted but I had to try".

None of his explanation fazed Elena. She was going to be pissed for a long ass time and there was nothing he could do about it, but everything needed to be set straight. "Stefan, you left and I fell in love with Damon. Be a man and get over it. We would have fallen apart if you had stayed anyways. Right now, I am more interested in hearing about why we're all in danger and what you two researched then hearing you continue to try to fix something that I refuse to let you fix. I am happy with Damon. Bottom line. So can we cut it out now" Elena's bitchiness was a shock to almost everyone of the room. Damon had never felt more secure in their relationship then he did in that moment. Damon was busy thinking of all the ways he could reward her for her verbal attack on Stefan, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

Stefan backed away from the foot of the bed and went back to standing in the doorway, avoiding eye contact with everyone. Damon broke the silence, "Well as fun as that was, do we get the rest of the explanation sometime today?" Damon had had enough of the Jerry Springer episode that was Stefan and Elena's relationship; he wanted to know what was threatening his love.

Katherine gladly took center stage, "Okay well let's start with the background, in 1864 I faked my entrapment in the tomb because I was hiding from my creator. His name is Gabriel and he turned me so I could follow him around for all of eternity. He saw me as his prize, a trophy. He wanted to control me, like a magicians beautiful assistant if you will".

Damon couldn't help but interrupt, "yes 'cause you take orders so well Katherine" he quipped which earned a mischievous grin from her.

"Exactly, so as soon as I physically could, I took off. I spent my entire un-dead life running from him until he found out I was trapped in the tomb. According to my sources, I became too much work for him then and he was content to leave me to rot" she explained, Damon couldn't help but continue her tale.

He sighed, "And because of my stupid ass that opened the tomb and discovered you weren't in there, word got around and he is on the hunt again. Correct?" He had spent every day since the tomb was open wishing that he had just left it be. He should have given up on Katherine like she obviously had on him, but he didn't and it had been biting him in the ass ever since.

Katherine nodded, "Correct. He has slowly been killing everyone I have ever sired to send a message to me. He keeps getting closer and you two are coming up on his list rather quickly. And once he finds Elena, he will want to complete his collection with her. He will hold both of us in captivity together forever".

Elena shivered at her words, "so you expect us to trust you long enough to help you kill your sire. Who is extremely old and powerful. I think I speak for the room when I ask, are you freaking insane? It's a death sentence" her voice took on a hysterical tone towards the end of her rant.

Katherine seemed to take on a dramatic eloquence before she spoke, "Elena, so is doing nothing. At least for Damon and Stefan. For us, it's an eternity as his pets".

Stefan looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact with everyone while Damon started to shake with rage. "So what the fuck are we supposed to do?" he yelled to no one in particular.

Stefan finally found a use for himself and spoke up, "that's why we left to do the research. We tried to find his weakness. We met with a few witches who explained some things and I'm sure Bonnie would be able to help us as well. Maybe even Alaric and Caroline".

Elena's eyes widened, "you want to bring more people down with our fate? I won't have those deaths rest on my conscience" she looked utterly appalled by his implications, but Stefan jumped to defend his thinking. "We would only need Bonnie for some information and the others would have a choice. These people care about you. They will want to help".

Damon shook his head, "I think the witch would be helpful but the rest just sounds like unnecessary blood shed. Bonnie has the Grimoire and if I know anything about Emily's relationship with you Katherine, I know that she documented all the information she could get her hands on".

Damon moved to reassuringly put his arm around Elena; he could feel that she needed the comfort. Katherine looked over to Stefan in a meaningful glance the second she saw Damon and Elena's interaction. He avoided eye contact with the room again. Katherine snickered.

"So is that all?" Elena asked quietly, not sure if she wanted the answer.

Katherine looked at her twin with sympathy for a split second; it was gone so fast Elena wondered if it was even really there. "Stefan and I did some reading on a doppelganger spell, but we won't know anything in particular until we talk to the Bennet witch" Katherine explained.

Damon wasn't taking it for face value like Katherine expected him to, "what do you know about it so far?"

She huffed, reluctant to get into this at that particular moment, but know she had no other choice, "it consists of two vampire doppelgangers and a witch connection and a trapping spell" she kept it vague. She didn't want to deal with the wrath of Damon if any of her facts were wrong.

Elena raised her head, staring at Katherine, "vampire doppelgangers? So I would have to turn to be able to pull this off? And judging by the way you are reacting to this idea, you obviously think it is a long shot".

That aggravated Katherine, this girl didn't know her. But for some reason Elena knew how to read her, and it unnerved her. "Look carbon copy, you're gonna have to turn anyway" she snarled. Elena didn't back down, instead she rose from the bed and got into Katherine's face. Both brothers moved to intervene before Elena could get hurt, but they didn't move either female.

"I would rather die than be trapped in a cage by some dick head who gets off on the idea of eternal twins" Elena yelled.

"Yeah well, if you don't turn in the attempt to do the spell then you're taking all of us to the grave with you" Katherine sneered.

Elena knew she had a point, but she wasn't backing down, "And give me one good reason why anyone of us should trust you".

Katherine knew that trust was going to be an issue in this situation. She was shocked that Stefan had believed her and came to help her in the first place, but wining over Elena and Damon, that was a whole different ball game. "Because, if one of us dies, we all die. I think the saying 'the enemy of your enemy is a friend' fits wonderfully here" Katherine reasoned. Elena couldn't fight her on that but she had some stipulations, "if we help you, after this is over, you are to disappear, only to come back if called, got it?" Elena demanded, the brothers looked at each other in awe of the woman they loved. She was holding her own against a three hundred year old vampire perfectly.

Katherine stepped back, casually leaning against the bedroom wall, "if called?" she questioned.

Elena nodded, "yeah, from here on out, you will be my ally. If I am going to become a vampire, my lack of years will give me a disadvantage. You will be my back up plan for eternity. You will owe me a debt. Fair?"

Katherine jolted away from the wall, back into Elena's personal space. She held her hand out, "Twin, if you get my back here, I will always have yours. I make good on that promise" Katherine vowed, shocking the whole room. Katherine was known for her loyalty, when she decided to truly give it. Elena reached out a shook Katherine's hand for a second before Elena walked back to the bed and sat down. Katherine went back to leaning against the wall. Damon and Stefan stood dumb founded between them.

"Hey Stef, do you believe what just happened?" Damon asked quietly.

"Nope" Stefan responded, popping the p for emphasis.

"Okay just checking" Damon smirked, the way Elena had handled herself during her exchange with Katherine was a definite turn on. Shocking and impressive were the only words he could think of to describe Elena in that moment, oh and sexy as all hell, yeah that too.

"So is this meeting adjourned for now? The human needs a break from the impending doom if that's alright with all of you" Elena hinted hoping Stefan and Katherine would get the hint to leave the room. Katherine did, but Stefan attempted to hang around. "When are we going to call Bonnie?" Stefan asked impatiently. Damon intervened there, "Elena needs dinner and sleep otherwise the stress is going to turn her into the walking dead, no pun intended, so we will call her tomorrow. Good night Stefan" Damon slowly pushed his brother out of the room and shut the door in his face.

Elena was already sprawled across the bed, visibly exhausted. Damon lay down next to her and pulled him to his chest, "Elena, seeing you face off with Katherine just now was probably one of the sexiest things I have seen in my one hundred and seventy years of living. I have never been more impressed with you" he praised and she smiled into his chest.

She shrugged, "what can I say? The second I realized she needed something from me, my fear went out the window and I took the opportunity. Do you think having her as an ally is even possible? Does she even know how to be loyal?" Elena asked; she was starting to doubt her actions. Damon pulled away to look into her eyes, "Loyalty is something that Katherine is very good at, if she decides to really give it to someone. I have never seen her like she was with you tonight. She is gonna owe you when all of this is over and I really think she'll make good on that debt" he explained, Elena relaxed in his arms. Elena knew it was a big deal that Damon thought this arrangement with Katherine could work, he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her, but he did trust Elena's judgment and that was enough for right now.

"What do you think about me turning?" Elena asked quietly.

Damon exhaled loudly, obviously not pleased with the situation, "you already know I want nothing more than to keep you for eternity. You also know that I wanted you to turn because you wanted me for eternity, not because there was something hanging over your head. I don't like it but I don't think we are going to have much of an option pretty soon. It all depends on what comes up in the Grimoire" he explained. She visibly relaxed at his words.

"Damon, I do want to turn because I want you forever. I would like for both of us to be alive, or at least un-dead, longer enough to have eternity. Unfortunately Katherine and Stefan seem to come with the package in this situation but that doesn't make it any less about us" she reasoned.

He seemed to be very pleased with that explanation; the guilt was still ever present in his mind though.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this" he apologized softly.

She sat up on the bed to look at his face, she seemed aggravated. "When are you going to realize that all of this is worth it to me? You make me into this person that I love being; I love everything about us. I love the fact that we can be in a room with Katherine and Stefan and nether of us are worrying about the hold they had on us. I love the way you know exactly when I need comforting. I love that I can look in your eyes and know your emotions without even having to talk to you about it. I have never been more comfortable or honest with another person than I am with you. All of those things and so many more make everything we have ever had to go thorough, together and apart, worth it to me" she ranted, her emotions taking over, tears spilled slowly down her cheeks.

Damon was speechless. They had had some pretty in depth conversations about what was going on between them since they finally got together, but nothing had been that open and honest since the night they argued and confessed to loving each other. Damon pulled her back into his arms wordlessly; trying to collect his thoughts. He rubbed her back soothingly as her breathing leveled, "it takes a lot to render me speechless but you my love sure seem to be very good at it. I completely agree with everything you just said. Any pain I have ever had to go through in the last one hundred and seventy years is completely worth it because I have never been as happy as I am with you safely in my arms. You have violently broken down every wall I have ever built and buried yourself in my heart and soul and I couldn't be happier you that you did. You are the only person I feel completely accepted by. You call me out of my shit and set me back in line when I need it. You loved me when I didn't think I deserved it and then you showed me that I did. You are the other half of me and I will do everything in my power to protect you, to protect us" he vowed. It was her turn to be speechless. She looked into his eyes; were filled with venerability and devotion. She leaned up to kiss him as passionately as he deserved.

They both shed there clothes as quickly as they could manage. Once their bare bodies were heavily pressed against each other Damon's eyes locked on Elena's in a passionate stare that she felt in her very soul. He pressed his forehead to hers while she straddled his waist. His hands traveled up and down her sides while her hands threaded into the dark hair on the nape of his neck. "I love you Elena. I have never and will never love anyone else the way that I love you. You are my forever" he murmured. He lifted her up to slowly lower on his throbbing shaft. They groaned together at the intimate contact. He filled her so completely; it was like no other feeling imaginable. Her eyes closed in overwhelming pleasure; her whole body was on fire as she started to swivel her hips on him, grinding their bodies together sinfully. "God, I love you Damon" she moaned as she started to feel the burning in her lower abdomen. He quickly flipped them over so he was hovering over her, slowly thrusting into her. He would pull all the way out before filling her completely in a torturously slow fashion. There unwavering eye contact was taking the experience to a whole other level. Without taking his eyes off of her, he slowly moved one hand down their bodies to rub her clit in slow circles. He could feel her tensing around him; he held on long enough for her to tighten around him. The circles on her clit picking up speed the second she slipped over the edge of her climax. Seconds later he followed her into euphoria groaning her name as he spilled his seed deep inside her.

Once they came down from their simultaneous climaxes Damon collapsed on top of her, his weight on his forearms. He went to roll off of her when she wrapped her arms around his waist quickly, "please just stay here for a minute. The pressure is comforting. It helps with the numbness that this day has brought on" she explained as he shifted so they were both comfortable. He was still incased inside of her and his adjustment caused a moan to escape from her. "Elena, I'm going to keep us safe. I promise".

"I know you will. The whole situation is just making me all too aware of our mortality. I don't even want to think about living without you" she explained, she unwrapped her arms from around him and he slowly rolled to her side, pulling her with him. "I'm not going anywhere and neither are you. You might become a little more durable, but you are always going to be Elena" he whispered.

"I love you so much it scares me sometimes" she admitted, her eyes fluttering closed.

"I know exactly what you mean. I feel that way everyday but every second with you is worth the fear. Now sleep my love, I will be right here when you wake up" he promised, he fell asleep listening to his favorite sound in the world, her heart beat.

Review please. Thank you- Ashley


	4. Chapter 4

Elena woke up painfully early the next morning; her brain overloading with the news of yesterday the second her eyes opened. She looked over at Damon's sleeping form and relaxed slightly. He never looked more peaceful or serene then he did while sleeping. She softly brushed a few strands of hair from his face but he never stirred. They had woken up during the night and repeated their earlier performance of passionate love making, after which he had spent a large part of the early morning watching her sleep; she was too out of it to notice his admirer. Elena dragged herself out of the bed and quickly dressed in a pair of Damon's flannel pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt.

She noticed the disarray of the living room the second she walked down the stairs. There were chairs overturned and books scattered on the floor. A few drinking glasses were shattered against the fire place. She carefully made her way to the kitchen, were she noticed the overwhelming scent of blood. The coppery tang hung in the air in high potency. Looking over the island she saw dripping blood bags all scattered in a circle around a very distraught Stefan.

"Why him?" he asked pathetically. Elena remained silent, her heart rate picking up out of pure fear. He stared at the floor in front of him for a minute, just listening to her rapid heart beat calling to him.

"I got to listen to your confessions of undying love and the passionate sex last night and early this morning" he explained, the disgust evident in his voice.

Elena finally broke her silence, "Oh god Stefan, what have you done?" she whispered.

With his heightened vampire speed, he had her pinned up against the stainless steel refrigerator before she could make sense of any movement. "What have I done? What have you done? Whoring yourself out to Damon, throwing away everything we had. We were supposed to have eternity Elena" he yelled in her face, his hand placed tightly on her throat, making it difficult for her to breath. The human blood in his system had erased the person she had once loved, he had fully embraced the monster within and it was going to get Elena killed.

Elena knew it was pointless to struggle, she only had one option, "so what now Stefan? You gonna kill me for loving your brother? I can see the gears turning in your head. It wouldn't take much to drain me dry or snap my neck right? Well all that's gonna do is sign your own death certificate, along with mine, Damon's and Katherine's. I mean you could run, but I have a feeling Gabriel would catch up to you quickly. You aren't a very difficult person to figure out" she rasped, her oxygen becoming harder to come by after her rant.

"Stefan, please let go of Elena" Damon begged, he showed up in the kitchen some time during her rant. Stefan's yelling had woken him but Damon hadn't recognized the blood induced rage until getting closer. Stefan didn't budge; his grip remained on Elena's throat.

"Come on Stefan, she didn't do anything wrong. You wanna blame someone? Blame me. You wanna see some blood shed? Then let's go. I've been making your life miserable for a hundred and forty five years, it's time to get some revenge" Damon taunted. Stefan dropped Elena and lunged at Damon with no backwards glance at the woman he claimed to love.

Elena saw Damon get rocketed in the plush red couch in the living room, smashing it in half. The brothers fought at a speed too high for Elena's eyes to make sense of. Elena saw the leg of a table get snapped off by Stefan and Damon get staked through the stomach. That's when she screamed. Damon quickly removed the stake and threw his brother into the nearest wall. Damon didn't look to be healing quickly enough for this to continue. Thankfully, Katherine intervened just as Stefan was charging Damon again. He was thrown backwards by the impact of hitting the three hundred year old vampiress. She stabilized herself before she yelled, "THAT'S ENOUGH! Stefan this kind of behavior is going to do nothing but get us all killed quickly" she warned. She went over to where Stefan was lying in the floor and picked him up; she carried him down towards the basement door. Elena rushed to Damon's side the second Stefan was hauled away. He was lying next to the destroyed couch looking equally mangled. There was a giant puncture wound on his bare stomach, his ribs looked crushed and his arm sat at an awkward angle. His entire body was bloodily and bruised and nothing seemed to be healing.  
"Blood" he rasped. Elena sat him up against the ruminants of the couch and brought her neck down to his face. He pushed her away softly, "Elena no. the fridge" he protested.

"Damon, Stefan emptied the fridge. You don't have any choice, you need blood" she wrapped her arms around his beaten torso and leaned him into her. He caved and pierced her neck the second he was situated against her. He fed from her until her face started to drain of color and he eyes started to droop. She could hear his bones popping back into place as he pulled away. They sat there together for a few minutes, just holding each other and catching their breath, before he picked her up and took her back to his bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and sat next to her brushing the hair from her face. "Thank you" he murmured as she nodded off to sleep. He had never seen someone do something so brave for him. The only other time he could compare it to was when she had talked Lexi's boyfriend out of burning him alive in Georgia. She never seized to amaze him. It seems they had equally invested themselves into their relationship; without one the other didn't exist. They protected each other at all costs. Damon stared at her face, completely lost in thought for a few minutes before he heard his door open.

He looked over to see Katherine standing in his door way, "I locked him in the cell in the basement for now. We can get him back on a normal diet of human blood once he detoxes". Damon nodded, he heard her footsteps travel back down the hall to the living room where she started to clean the mess of furniture and glass. Damon crawled into bed with Elena minutes later after he showered. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled when she sighed contently in her sleep, softly muttering his name before settling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Elena awoke violently about four hours after the ordeal in the bottom level of the house. She thrust her torso up out of the bed breathing heavily and shaking. Her heart beat erratically as she took beep breaths trying to calm herself, but they turned into sobs quickly. Damon pulled her closer against his chest, "shhh. Your okay, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there sooner" he cooed to her as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I was so scared that he was going to kill me and you were going to find me drained on the floor" she sobbed. Damon couldn't help it, the image popped into his head of Elena's blood body lying lifeless on his kitchen floor. He saw red. He had never wanted to kill his brother more than in this moment. He held her tighter but it still wasn't tight enough for Elena. She clung to him like a life preserver, she never wanted to let go. She cried into his chest for a few more moments before she finally calmed down. She pulled away slightly, "are you okay? Did you heal completely?" she asked, all of a sudden over come with worry for him. He chuckled, "you're practically having a nervous break down and you're worried about me? I'm fine honey. Thanks to you I'm good as new". She moved the blankets to scan his body, checking for any injuries that might still be there. He laid down for her to fully inspect him. He scanned her at the same time; she was weak and was sporting a nasty bruise on her neck. You could definitely make out the hand print on her throat. He pulled her up so she was lying on top of him; her head on his chest and his arms wrapped around his waist. He moved his lips to her ear, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there earlier to protect you. I never thought in a million years that he would hurt you. God, I'm sorry" his voice held desperation as he apologized.

Elena shook her head, "stop. You didn't know he had been up all night binge drinking human blood. You couldn't have known he would react that way. This is no one's fault but Stefan's okay? No more apologizes" she reasoned. He nodded and kissed her forehead. "Damon, promise me something?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Anything" he vowed.

"Don't shy away from the blood issue while I'm here anymore. It was way too easy for Stefan to do damage to you this morning. You need to keep up your strength and you haven't been feeding because of me" she explained. Damon opened his mouth to defend himself but quickly shut it again. He couldn't argue, he had lessened his blood intake while she was around. Elena had been spending more and more time with him at the boarding house and he hadn't been comfortable drinking blood in front of her. Elena was making him feel human again, the blood was just a constant reminder that he was no where near human. Elena pulled him from his internal turmoil, "the blood doesn't bother me Damon. It is part of who you are and I love you. It's not going to push me away" she reassured. She placed her elbow on his chest and perched her face on her hand, getting a better look at his face.

"Okay. I'll increase the blood intake, but I will probably stick to bags from here on out" he compromised; she gave him a questioning look. "Why just bags? Doesn't fresh blood make you even stronger?"she asked.

He huffed, "Fresh blood does pack more of a punch but feeding from a human…" he broke off and looked deep into her eyes, she could she his turmoil, "it comes with a level of intimacy. That's why I used to pick a willing girl and…" he broke off again when he saw Elena's enlightened expression.

"Blood and sex normally go hand in hand for you right?" she asked, obviously perturbed by the idea of him with other women, even if it was for feeding purposes. He smirked, "it used to. Yes."

Elena moved off of him and sat cross legged on the bed next to him, he sat up against the head board facing her. "How about this then, we can make this more comfortable for both of us if your primary diet is blood bags but a couple times a week, you can feed from me" she proposed. He immediately crossed his arms across his chest and shook his head.

"Elena, you are not food. Plus there would be some…uh, effects of exchanging blood regularly" he was very hesitant all of a sudden and it sparked her interest.

"What kind of effects?" she asked seductively while crawling over to him. He eyed her warily, not really sure if she was really okay after the mornings events or if she was trying to distract him from worrying about her. He placed his forehead against her while she straddled his legs and hovered over him, "the kind of side effects that make your skin buzz every time I touch you. You will start to crave my bite and the blood exchange itself will set your whole body on fire in the most sexually satisfying way. I have heard of women climaxing during the exchange alone" he explained devilishly. None of that surprised her; in fact all that explanation did was encourage her to make it happen. He had already had her blood twice but they had never actually exchanged and now that she knew what his blood would do to her, she was more than excited.

"None of that is convincing me that this is a bad idea. And if I remember correctly, I remember telling you that I craved your bite before you bit me the first time". It was her turn to look devilish. It definitely turned Damon on to know that she craved his bite already. She was doing an amazing job of convincing him that this was a good idea; he just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the blood exchange would heighten the pleasure of their already amazing sex life. But there were more effects she needed to be aware of, "you will also have some heightened senses and then there's the whole risk of becoming a vampire if you die with my blood in your system" he reasoned.

"Well according to Katherine, I'm going to be a vampire pretty soon anyways so that argument is null and void. You are running out of reasons baby, why don't you just let me win this one?" She really did love taunting him, almost as much as she loved winning.

He pulled away from her and leaned back against the head board, "Fine, you win. But we aren't exchanging today. You can't afford anymore blood loss. And I have one more stipulation" he gave her a mischievous look. She sat back on his legs, still straddling him, "okay. What is it?" she asked cautiously.

"I want to go with you to Sunday night dinner tonight so we can finally tell Jenna and Alaric that we are together. She thinks you are hanging around here all the time 'cause Stefan is back and it's driving me nuts. Oh and I think we should tell Jenna the whole back story on our situation so I can ask her if you can move in here" he compromised. Elena was shocked, "wait, you want to tell Jenna that you are a vampire and that I am going to become one, and you want me to move in here?"

Damon immediately backed down, "well she is the only one that doesn't know about vampires and the threat. And you don't have to move in if you don't want to" he felt like he might have pushed to far to fast.

Elena smiled, "It's not that I don't want to live with you. That I want, I just don't really feel safe living here after this morning" he nodded in understanding.

"We could always buy our own house or we could kick out Stefan and Katherine and put the house in your name" he offered, Elena laughed for the first time that morning.

"How about we hold off on this conversation until after Jenna knows we are together and that you're a vampire. It's going to take some time to get used to that, until then we will just have to continue sleeping alone on the weekdays" she pecked his lips and got up out of bed looking for clothes to change into. They needed to get to Jenna's for family night so they could break the news to her. Elena wasn't sure which news she would take harder. She wasn't sure if she was going to believe any of their news.

Damon huffed, "but I hate sleeping alone all week. I can never really fall asleep. Hey, can I compel Jenna to let you get a bigger bed and then I will just sneak in your window every night?"

"She's on vervain honey. You could always just ask her. Keep in mind you aren't dealing with the normal parental guardian here and if she knows I'm in danger, she will probably feel better about you staying with me" Elena reasoned with a small smile.

"Oh yeah, I can just hear how ridiculous I would sound asking Jenna that. 'Hey Jenna, can I buy your niece a bigger bed so I can sleep over during the week? It will make sex and blood exchange so much easier. Please'" his sarcasm thick in his voice. Elena almost fell trying to put her jeans on; she was taken off guard by the joke and started laughing hysterically. "Hey it's worth a try" she said while leaning over the bed to kiss him quickly, "now get up. You wanted to go to family night so I suggest you get dressed and I will meet you downstairs". She walked toward the door while Damon got out of bed. She stopped suddenly before her hand could made contact with the door knob. She was scared to leave the room. She didn't know what she would face on the other side. Damon came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "Katherine locked him in the basement this morning so he could detox. You are safe" he whispered in her ear. She nodded and made her way toward the door again. Damon called out to her then from the doorway of the bathroom, his curiosity getting the best of him. "Elena wait, I understand if you don't want to tell me but do you have any idea what set him off this morning?"

Elena sighed, "he stayed up all night listening to us. Apparently our conversation last night was too passionate for him to handle. I think he thought I was just screwing around with you to get back at him. I don't think he considered that I could actually be in love with you. He was probably even more shocked to hear that you returned my feelings the way you do" she explained. "There's more about the experience I want to tell you but it can wait until after dinner tonight okay" she called back to the bathroom he had disappeared into moments before.

Damon came out seconds later fully dressed in his black jeans, black t shirt, leather jacket and boots. He smiled warmly at her, "okay love" he paused looking at her neck for a second. Elena had forgotten about the bruise. "Elena I can give you some blood to heal that up so Jenna doesn't see it. I know we are going to come clean to her but I understand if you don't want her to know about that" he took her hand and opened the door for her. She smiled, "okay but first I want to show Stefan. I need to face this head on and I want him to see what he did to me. I'll meet you in the car okay? I gotta deal with this" she explained. He bent forward to kiss her forehead, "I understand you need to face this but I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait in the basement hallway".

They walked down the stairs and through the freshly cleaned and empty living room. Katherine had cleaned up all the glass and broken furniture leaving the living room bare. They walked hand in hand down the basement stairs and hallway. Elena let go of Damon's hand to walk the rest of the way to Stefan's cell.

"Katherine, I told you to leave me alone. Don't you understand anything?" Stefan snarled from behind the bars. Elena heard Damon snort down the hallway; she could have sworn she heard him whisper 'idiot' under his breath.

"Guess again" Elena said moving the hair away from her neck to show him her black and purple bruise. He gasped, "oh god Elena. I am so sorry" he apologized, his head hung pathetically.

He had barely spoken and she had had enough, "No you don't get to apologize. You don't even get to speak. Just shut up and listen" she yelled while she threw the sliding lock of the door to the side and opening the door. Damon was in front of her in a flash, "Elena no" he started. She looked up at him pleadingly, "please let me do this" she begged. He nodded and moved from the door. Elena stormed into the cell, staring Stefan down from where he sat on his cot.

"I have wasted seven months of my life on you. I put up with everything because I was so sure that you loved me. I forgave you when you lied to me. I helped you when you relapsed. I sat outside of this cell for a week waiting for you to man up and accept your limitations. I was broken for a month and a half after you left with out a word. I couldn't let you go. You had me programmed to need you. But then I realized that we were always doomed anyways. You were always going to keep us on different levels; I was always going to be the human you were protecting. That's all it was, you needed me to need you. But this morning, for the first time ever, I was afraid of you. I thought I was going to die on that kitchen floor. I thought you were going to be the end of me. There's no coming back from that. You finally crossed the line. When you came back I wanted to be your friend, but now I don't even know how I am going to be able to stand to look at you. If Damon hadn't shown up this morning I would be dead right now and that knowledge makes you dead to me. When this is over with Gabriel, I don't ever want to see your face again. Is that clear? You no longer exist to me" she didn't wait for a response. She left the cell and slammed the door behind her, reveling in the sound of the lock ringing through the basement. She walked past Damon, through the house and out the door before the tears started to slowly travel down her cheeks.

Damon was there in a flash holding her by his car, rubbing her back and whispering in her ear. "I am so proud of you. You finally told him everything he put you through. You were honest, no sparing his feelings. That's exactly what you needed. It will be better now" Damon told her.

She nodded against his chest, her tears slowing, "I'm sorry you have to watch me cry over this. It's not fair to you". She looked up into his ice blue eyes as he smiled down at her, his smile really was breathtaking, and she lived for it.

"Don't ever apologize to me because of what you're feeling. That's the beauty of loving someone the way I love you, you never have to hide from me". His words calmed her in a way she had never imagined possible. Her eyes beamed up at him with the unconditional love he was admitting to. She pressed her forehead against his, "I love you. Thank you" she whispered before backing away from him and opening the car door. They drove to Jenna and Alaric's house in silence. A couple weeks after Stefan had left; Jenna and Alaric decided to move in together. Jeremy was adjusting nicely and Elena had spent the majority of her depressed days ignoring their presence but now they were functioning as a happy family. Now we just needed to add Damon and the vampire truth to the mix and see how that affects everything.

Bonnie seemed to have adopted her family as well. With all the witch stuff she had been dealing with, she needed the normalcy of Elena's family. She seemed to have latched on to Jeremy for some normalcy also. They were spending a lot time together but Elena was unaware of their status; she didn't know if they were friends or something more.

They pulled up in front of Elena's house; she sighed heavily and Damon looked at her warily. "Are you sure you are up for all of this tonight? You have had a long day" he asked. To Elena, the term long day seemed like the understatement of the century, it was only one o'clock in the afternoon and she was already ready to crawl into bed and sleep for twelve hours. She took his hand and ran her thumb over the back, "the question is, are you ready for this? Jenna can be pretty scary when she wants to be and Alaric is the resident vampire hunter. They might stage an attack" she joked with a smirk.

"Oh so now Jenna is scary. What happened to her 'not being the average parental guidance'?" he smirked back. He got out of the car and walked around to open her door, "Well this isn't the average boyfriend introduction. Oh and can you please warn Alaric before you let his girlfriend know that he is a vampire hunter and has been in on everything from the beginning?"

"Yes _dear_" he joked while they walked up the walk way and into the house.

The house really was especially alive for this family dinner. Jeremy and Alaric were in the living room watching football while Jenna and Bonnie conversed over an open cook book. Damon and Elena walked into the kitchen hand and hand, "Hi family. Are we already having dinner issues?" Elena asked with a smile. The women looked up at the couple, "no issues, just checking temperature and time for the roast. This meal prep actually went smoothly" Jenna sounded proud of her accomplishment while Bonnie gave Elena a knowing look. "I watched her every move. Now we just have to watch the oven when she gets distracted, but if all else fails we have a back up plan" Bonnie explained with a smile while Jenna rolled her eyes.

Damon smirked, "oh really? What's that?" he asked.

"Pizza guy on speed dial" Jeremy yelled from the living room. The room laughed at Jenna's expense for a few minutes before anyone acknowledged the new arrivals. Jenna eyes went directly to Damon and Elena's linked hands, "So Elena, I think you have something to tell me" she raised an eyebrow at her niece. "Um yeah Jenna, I haven't been hanging around the boarding house because Stefan came back. I've been staying there because I'm in love with Damon" Elena announced. The whole room went silent. The T.V. muted in the living room and both men joined the conversation quickly after Elena's confession.

"Well it's about time you guys come clean. You've been hanging around together for a month" Jeremy blurted while walking to the fridge to grab a soda for him and Bonnie. Jenna gave Elena a blank stare for a minute, obviously speechless. Minutes later, the silence was unbearable; the room had turned into a staring match, "Elena can I talk to you upstairs for a minute?" Jenna asked while walking to the stairs into Elena's bedroom. Elena glanced over at Damon; he squeezed her hand reassuringly and walked over to Alaric, leading him back into the living room.

Upstairs, Jenna was pacing Elena's room, "Elena are you sure you know what you're doing here? What happened to Stefan? Does he know about this?" her questions were thrown at Elena quickly. Elena took a deep breath, "Aunt Jenna, I have never been more sure about anyone in my life. He loves me and I love him. We are happy and we are going to be together. Stefan knows; it's definitely over with Stefan. Hell, it was over with Stefan before he left. We aren't even speaking right now" Elena explained quickly.

"He makes you happy? You trust him?"

"I am the happiest I have ever been when I 'm with him. I trust him with my life, love, heart and soul. He's it for me. I'm sure" Elena's honesty hit Jenna hard. Her words brought tears to Jenna's eyes, "Okay kid. I'm behind you, but if he hurts you Ric and I will kill him" she said while hugging her niece tightly.

Jenna wiped her eyes quickly, "well let's get back to our men. Poor Bonnie is down there on her own" they walked back downstairs smiling. The kitchen quieted quickly upon their arrival. Damon wrapped his arms around Elena's waist, kissing her cheek, "Every thing okay?"

"Yeah, everything is perfect" she started, "for now" she added quietly for only Damon to hear.

"Damon I will tell you what I told her, if you hurt her, Ric and I will gladly kill you" Jenna warned with a slight smile.

Damon chuckled, "sounds like a fair deal" he reached across the island and shook Jenna's hand, then Alaric's.

Alaric scanned the room quickly, making eye contact with every person but Jenna, "Jen, lets go in the living room. We have some stuff we wanna tell you about" Ric said, slowly leading her to the couch.

He was reluctant to start, he knew this moment would change everything for the woman he loved; he had a lot of explaining to do. "Jenna, we have some pretty important stuff to tell you. Just try and have an open mind about this okay?" he started. Elena couldn't take it anymore, "Aunt Jenna, you know how you always used to joke about all the Gilbert secrets you weren't allowed to know?" Jenna nodded, not understanding where Elena was going with this. "Well it turns out a lot of John Gilbert's horror stories about blood sucking demons were true" she concluded quickly.

"Hey. I resent that" Damon faked offense. Elena smiled, "sorry babe. Just trying to go off of her previous knowledge" she cooed.

Half the group rolled their eyes while the gears in Jenna's head started turning, "are you trying to tell me that vampire exist and that their really was a town counsel hell bent on destroying them?"

Elena nodded while the rest of the room avoided eye contact with her. Jenna started to laugh, "Okay nice prank. Using my own previous curiosity against me, that's clever".

Ric spoke up then, "Jen, she's not kidding. There is such thing as vampires. The counsel does exist. I would know because that's what happened to Isobel, she found a vampire to turn her. I've been hunting them ever since."

Damon thought this would be a good time to speak up, "and I would know because I am one and have been since 1864"he blurted.

Elena glared at him, "Damn Damon, that was gentle. Why don't you just flash her some fangs while you're at it. Then she'll pass out from shock" she reprimanded.

"Sorry, it's just the build up was taking forever. I figured it would just be easier to throw it out there" he defended. Bonnie and Jeremy laughed from the couch. "Wow Damon the big bad vampire just got scolded by his tiny human girlfriend. That's awesome" Jeremy said, his laughter causing Damon to growl at him.

Jenna stared off into the distance, not making contact with anyone. She wasn't shocked. So many things had been going on in this town since the Salvatore brothers had arrived. She had read every journal and book written by John Gilbert; but she had always thought he was just a crazy drunk; turns out he was perfectly sane.

"The animal attacks?" Jenna asked quietly. Everyone looked to Damon, "look Jenna, I'm gonna be honest. I don't have the greatest track record, some of those animal attacks were me when I first got here and I had turned off my humanity. Some were Stefan, Logan, Caroline, Anna and the tomb vampires" he explained.

"Wait Logan? As in Fell? He was a vampire? And Caroline Forbes? I thought her mom was like head of the counsel" now that shocked her.

Elena sighed, "Look Jenna we are getting off topic. The bottom line is Damon and Stefan are vampires, but Damon lives off of stolen blood bags these days. He won't hurt any of us. Stefan on the other hand" Elena said moving her hair off of her shoulder.

Bonnie gasped. "Oh fuck" Damon mumbled, "Elena we forgot about the bruise" he warned. Elena immediately moved her hair back to her neck, covering up the finger marks but she still had a palm imprint on her jugular. Jenna stared accusingly at Damon.

"Jenna no. Damon didn't hurt me. Stefan had a human blood issue last night. He is having trouble accepting me and Damon and he attacked me this morning. He is locked in the basement of the boarding house until the human blood passes out of his system" Elena explained quickly. Jenna exhaled a shaky breath and nodded, "okay I want the whole story. All of it. Nothing left out, if this is all of your lives then it's mine too. You are all my family and we are in this together" she reassured.

Everyone smiled at Jenna; she really was taking this like a trooper. Elena moved to continue the conversation, "well it started in 1864 when Stefan and Damon were human" she started, "do you mind if I tell the story? I kinda just wanna stick to the basics" she asked Damon quickly.

Damon smiled, "go ahead baby. You know the whole story. I'm okay with not having to rehash the whole story tonight myself".

Elena continued, "Well when Damon and Stefan were human, they lived here. They fell in love with a woman named Katherine who turned out to be a vampire; she led them both on, making them believe she loved them. She exchanged blood with both of them; well the thing is, if you have vampire blood in you system when you die, you turn. The counsel locked all the vampires they could find in a tomb under Fells church; well they thought they burned them alive. But a witch" Elena paused, looking over at Bonnie. Bonnie nodded and smiled, "A witch that happened to be my ancestor locked the vampires away instead of killing them. I am a Bennet witch, forever tied to a Pierce woman. Mine is Elena" Jenna nodded at Bonnie's explanation. Elena continued the story: explaining how Damon unlocked the tomb with Bonnie and Shelia to try and get Katherine back while Stefan was busy falling for her. She explained Anna and Pearl, John and Isobel and Katherine's epic return to Mystic Falls and the mystery behind her appearance.

"So wait, did I see you kissing Damon on the porch of Founders Day or Katherine?" Jenna asked like she was watching her favorite soap opera.

Damon grumbled, "That was Katherine tricking me into thinking it was Elena, that's how she got invited into your house and stabbed John".

Jenna nodded, "so she is obviously a threat right?"

Damon picked up the explanations, "well here is where things get interesting…"

"Ha. Yeah, Now it gets interesting" Jenna's sarcasm taking everyone off guard.

Damon continued, "As you all know, Stefan showed up again last week telling us that he left 'cause Katherine threatened her. Well it turns out he was trying to scare her back to him. What's really happening is Katherine's sire Gabriel is trying to take Katherine captive and is killing any vampire Katherine has created to send a message. Unfortunately, he will knocking on my door for me and Stefan very soon and when he does, he is going to want to take Elena and Katherine to add to his collection of pets. Katherine showed up last night telling me all of this, she says that we need doppelganger twins doing a spell to kill him and a connected witch to trap him".

Everyone took a deep breath. "Doppelganger twins? What does that mean for Elena?" Bonnie asked quietly. Damon hung his head, "for the spell to work, they have to be vampire doppelganger twins".

Jeremy stood then, "do we even know if this is going to work? Do you even have a spell? You aren't turning her until we can prove that this is going to work" he yelled.

Elena stood with him, "Jer, we don't have time to scream at each other okay? Damon is going to do what's best for all of us. There are a lot of things we need to work out okay?" he nodded.

"So I'm assuming you guys wanna look through the Grimoire for these spells, and since I am the connected witch, I guess I'm doing the trapping spell right?" Bonnie asked, standing up and taking Jeremy's hand. Elena's eyes traveled to the floor, she nodded solemnly. "Okay I'll be back" Bonnie walked to the door, Jeremy following closely behind.

Damon placed his hand on Elena's knee, palm up, she interlaced their fingers and left their connected hands on her knee. The two couples sat in silence for a minute before Damon looked to Jenna, "do you have any questions?"

Jenna sat thoughtfully for a minute, "So Elena is going to become a vampire so she and Katherine can kill Katherine's really powerful maker with Bonnie and her witch ancestor's book as your only tool? What's the likelihood of this working?"

Elena chuckled humorlessly, "Jenna, your guess is as good as ours. It depends on what the Grimoire says" she reasoned.

Damon looked from Alaric to Jenna quickly, "this may be a little off topic but I have something to ask you guys, with everything going on, I'm not really okay with Elena being unprotected at any time during all of this so, I wanted to ask if I could stay here with her until things settle down. I would ask to move her into the boarding house but Elena really isn't safe there either because of Stefan's 'drinking problem'. Both of us would feel better if we were living in the same house during this ordeal" Damon reasoned. Jenna seemed to be considering this for a second before something flashed in her eyes and she seemed to remember what he was, "Damon, can I talk to you in the kitchen, I need to check the roast" Jenna walked from the room.

Damon followed after giving Elena a reassuring look. Damon was suddenly very glad they hadn't gone over how a vampire is killed with Jenna; that was just asking for trouble.

"Okay I'm about to sound like a guardian so be prepared, I've known guys like you my whole life. The fuck and run type, the cocky guy with the god complex. The jackass that's so charming that he gets away with it. But with Elena you're different, she makes you better and you make her happy so I ask you, what are your intentions with my niece?"

Damon looked so deep into Jenna's eyes it almost looked like he was compelling her; he let some of his venerability show. "I love Elena. I want her to be my eternity. I will be there for her every step of the way when she changes. I will always be there for her, I will always love her and protect her above all else; that I can promise you".

Jenna nodded, taken aback by his heartfelt confession. "Can you procreate? She isn't in danger of getting pregnant with some hybrid is she?"

Damon snorted, "This isn't Twilight Jenna. I'm as good as dead, I can't create life"

Jenna chuckled, "Okay you can move in. But I want to be up to speed of everything that is going on and if you hurt her…"

Damon cut her off, "I would rather light myself on fire and stake myself through the heart than hurt her Jenna".

"Okay Elena, you can stop eaves dropping now, were done" Jenna yelled into the living room. Elena came out seconds later with a big smile on her face. "You have my blessing. But I don't want to hear anything going on in that bedroom Elena" Jenna chastised causing Damon to smirk. Jenna left the room quickly after that, leaving the couple alone for a moment.

"That was very sweet Damon, but watch your back. You kinda just told her how to kill you if she ever decided too" Elena joked leaning forward to kiss him. His declaration to her aunt had really made everything with them so much more real for her; she was on cloud 9 again. They waited patiently for Bonnie and Jeremy's return with the book that held their fate.

* * *

A/N: Okay a lot of information in this chapter. Not to mention a bad ass Elena and the return of Bonnie, Jenna and Jeremy to our TVD world. Review please and thank you- Ashley


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Damon huffed audibly, "You know Elena, the information in the Grimoire doesn't have to mean anything" he murmured. They had locked the door in Elena's room and found comfortable intertwined positions on her bed. He was rubbing her back soothingly while she got lost in thought. Thoughts of the future, thoughts of the past and thoughts of everything she still wanted to do.

She knew she could easily be doomed. She knew that there was a very good chance that either one of them could die before any of there possible plan could get under way. She knew that there was a very good chance that the book held no plan at all. His words broke her staring contest with the wall.

"What do you mean it doesn't have to mean anything? Its life or death Damon, for all of us" she couldn't understand his logic. The book meant everything at this point.

He moved his face closer to hers, gently pressing his forehead to hers, "We could leave. Just run. I could take care of you" his eyes locked with hers and refused to break the contact. She smiled sweetly before kissing him lightly. "I know you can, but if we do that, we'll never stop running Damon, and Katherine and Stefan would die. Not to mention what could happen to my family. It sounds great in theory, but you know we can't run" she tried to be practical.

He huffed again, visibly defeated, "Fine, I know your right. It just infuriates me that I can't protect you from this. You shouldn't have to be forced into giving up your humanity. You deserve this perfect life and it is all being taken away from you because…" his words were cut off by her getting up off the bed, detangling herself from him and pacing the floor.

"Because of what Damon? 'Cause if you say it's because of you, I'm going back downstairs with Jenna and Ric, and believe me that's bad. They are getting ridiculously touchy feely when they think they are alone" she threatened while running her hand through her hair. Damon remained quiet, a tale tell sign of guilt. She was out the door before he could move to stop her.

"Elena stop it. Just listen to me will yah?" he yelled behind her as she walked through the second floor landing and towards the stairs, "if Stefan and I hadn't come back you would have had a normal life without vampires trying to kill you. That's all I was getting at" he defended.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, "god for a smart person you can be really stupid. You not coming back would have made it so I wasn't Katherine's doppelganger? Funny Damon I didn't know you had that power. I am sick and tired of everyone deciding that they are to blame. You didn't make Gabriel hunt Katherine. You didn't make him kill any vampire she had created. You didn't make him track her and you here to me. All you did was come back to your home and try to save someone you loved from eternity in an under ground tomb" she ranted.

Damon stared at her lovingly before smirking, "yeah. A lot of good that did for all of us, I signed our damn death certificates by trying to save that wretched bitch" he chuckled darkly.

She moved into his chest, he wrapped his arms around her instinctively, "who would have thought you could be such a big softy?" she laughed lightly before turning serious, "Damon, you love without restraint. Its beautiful but sometimes it can be catastrophic."

His eyes seemed guarded for a minute, "yeah and sometimes the love destroys me, other times the restraints do" he murmured. She knew he was referring to the fighting they had to get through to break down his emotional walls so they could be together.

She remained quiet for a moment, reflecting on everything they had been through in such a short time together. He watched her stare into space for a moment, holding her close like she was water about to slip through his fingers.

"Damon, I'm scared" she whispered against his chest. His breath hitched for a minute before he exhaled heavily, "I know baby, me too."

Like a moment of weakness, she snapped out of it and stepped away from his comforting embrace, slightly leaving him hanging. She was avoiding the pain and the uncertainty and they both knew it.

"I think I need to go lie down. I can't sit here and wait for Bonnie to come back anymore" she turned around and walked back to her bed room. He followed her quietly.

Once she was safely is bed and perfectly drowsy he stroked her cheek lovingly, "will you be okay alone for an hour or so? I need to make a blood bank run after everything that happened this morning" he murmured.

She hated the idea of being alone for one minute but she knew he needed to feed. While her blood had saved his life that morning, it was not enough for him to sustain himself on. She gave him the most reassuring smile she could muster and nodded. He kissed her forehead gently, "I love you Elena" was all she heard before he disappeared out her bedroom window.

INSERT LINE

Elena knew sleep would be the easiest way to pass the time before Bonnie returned with the Grimoire and Damon returned with the safe feeling he brought with his presence. She tried her hardest but sleep evaded her. She had finally decided to give up when she heard something fall on her desk behind her back. She sat up quickly trying to make sense of the disturbance. She scanned her desk for a moment completely focused, until she heard the door to her bathroom creak open. Goose bumps immediately rose on her skin, she wasn't alone and her visitor refused to show themselves.

Then before she could make sense of the movement, she was pushed up against her bedroom wall by the monster that had once claimed to love her above anything in the world. His eyes shown a violent red and the black and blue veins under his eyes gave her the chills.

"You got away the first time. I won't let it happen again Elena" he growled.

"Stefan, no, you don't want to do this" she begged, trying to appeal to the little humanity he might have left.

The grip around her already sore throat let up for a second, seemingly distracted by the desperation in her voice. Then he shook his head like he had seen a ghost and refocused. He grabbed both of her wrists and moved them forcefully above her head, the grip on her neck finally letting up.

"For once Elena, I am going to do exactly what I want to do" was all he said before his lips crashed down on her viciously, his other hand making its way to her shirt which he quickly ripped off of her. He moved his lips to her neck, scrapping his fangs lightly along the line behind her ear.

She took this as her only opportunity, "Stefan, listen to me. You don't want to hurt me. Remember when the sound of my heart beat was the most significant sound in your world, because it meant someone loved you. We could have that again" she pleaded.

He let go and quickly retreated from her, "You're lying. I can smell him all over this room. You are fucking vile. I am going to treat you just like the whore he has created. You could have had me. We could have had eternity. Now I'm gonna take exactly what your good for, fresh blood and one last fuck before I snap your neck and leave you here for him to find" he spat.

His harsh words had completely destroyed her last lovingly thoughts for the person she once thought was her soul mate. That was when she realized this wasn't Stefan strung out on human blood, this was so much more.

She knew the next words she said were the exact opposite of everything she had felt for the last two weeks, but she knew it was the only way to help Stefan.

"Everything with Damon was just to help me get through loosing you. It didn't mean anything. I love you Stefan, it will always be you."

She saw him shatter and he collapse on the floor in her bed room. Whatever spell he had just been under had been broken by his overload of emotions. Elena's tears left stains on her face as she heard a tree in the woods a few yards away crack violently. Damon had heard the end of there conversation.

A.N. I am so sorry….I know you all hate me for my prolonged absence. I will try to write more often…the explanation of what just happened comes in the next chapter. I love you all- Ashley


	6. Chapter 6

Elena slowly backed up, making contact with the wall in order to keep her stability. Her whole body shook beyond control with sobs. She refused to open her eyes, refused to believe that she lived in a world where she could cause that amount of pain.

"Elena? Elena, are you okay?" Stefan asked frantically from a safe distance in her room. She ignored him. The words she had had no choice but to say were ringing in her head. The worlds that had just shattered the heart of the one she loved.

She barely heard Stefan cursing under his breath as he became more frantic, "Elena, please tell me I didn't hurt you. I don't even remember getting here. What happened?"

That caught her attention. Stefan didn't remember tonight's events. She didn't know what he remembered but she was too over come by grief to ask. She had snapped, just like Stefan.

"You wanna know what fucking happened? Somehow you were either compelled or spelled to attack me twice today. You tried to kill me, over dosed on human blood and nearly killed your brother. I'm assuming you tricked Katherine into letting you out of the cell as well. I noticed when you were choking me out that you were responding to emotional appeal. So I lied, I told you everything you could possibly wanna hear from me about how much I love you and how I don't care about Damon. Apparently, the emotional overload was enough to break the spell" she paused to try and catch her breath.

"Now Damon thinks I'm still in love with you and that everything I ever told him to the contrary was a lie" the hysterical sobs were starting to take over her body again. Stefan stared at her speechless, his eyes at the ground.

Finally, he whispered "the last thing I remember is hearing you and Damon in his room last night, the heartfelt confessions and the passion. I just got so overcome with rage that I remember thinking about the human blood in the fridge, but I don't remember drinking it, or anything after until you broke me out of it".

Elena's voice came out loud and clear, obviously pissed, "well it doesn't matter anymore. I spent every minute since you got here proving to Damon that you weren't a threat to us. Now he won't believe a word I say. I got one week. My fucking soul mate and I get one week" she was utterly defeated.

Stefan's eyes almost popped out of his skull, "you honestly think my brother, Damon Salvatore, is your soul mate? Elena, are you crazy? You know what he is capable of. How could you honestly want to spend eternity with my self serving psycho path of a brother?" Then he did the last thing she could tolerate from him, he checked the spot on her neck where her necklace securely sat.

"Stefan, Damon is so much more than your brother. I love him and would love nothing more than to spend eternity with him. Now get the fuck out of my house. You are not one to speak of what someone is capable of" she yelled, not caring who heard her. She lowered her head to rest against her arms placed on top of her knees. Stefan disappeared as soon as her gaze was lowered from him and Elena's door was broken down by Jenna and Ric. She also heard more footsteps up the stairs. Bonnie and Jeremy were back with the Grimoire.

The Grimoire didn't mean anything to her at this moment. She thought back to the night when Damon had threatened to create "a new vampire girl friend" for him and Stefan if he didn't get the book. She could have watched the book burn, just like Stefan had threatened, at this moment and not shed a tear. She knew her life meant nothing without Damon in it. But she felt utterly and completely defeated.

She was so caught up in her defeated thoughts that she didn't notice Jeremy and Bonnie trying to shake her back to reality.

"Elena, come on snap out of it…Jenna heard yelling. What happened?" Jeremy yelled.

"Stefan came back….he was compelled…I broke him out of it…but he attacked me first" she murmured, the stress of the day finally threatening her consciousness.

"Elena, how did you break him out of compulsion from an Original Vampire?" Bonnie asked while shaking her friend slightly. But Elena was out, a faint whisper of "tell Damon I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry" before her weight fell sideways onto her brother and she lost consciousness.

* * *

Bonnie was out the front door of the Gilbert house before Jeremy could lift up Elena to put her in bed. She ignored the calls they threw after her and immediately jumped back into her car to race to the Boarding house.

She stocked into the house, following the yelling and immediately turned on the pain. Stefan and Damon both hit the floor clutching there heads while Katherine stood watching, seemingly unaffected.

Katherine smirked, "I can't believe I am going to say this, but good timing Bennett, that was getting ridiculous".

Bonnie didn't acknowledge her, "I want to know why the fuck my best friend was attacked again tonight and I found her in the fetal position on her bedroom floor whispering apologies" the young witch yelled, her powers slightly shaking the windows. She released the vampires momentarily from their pain, but neither made a move to get off the floor.

"The last thing she said before she passed out was "tell Damon I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry", so someone better start explaining before I fry both your brains" she warned.

Stefan rolled over onto his back, staring at the ceiling, Damon stayed on his knees, his forehead on the ground and his breathing uneven.

"She broke me out of a compulsion. I had no control over my actions. I have no idea who compelled me. She lied and told me everything I wished was true about her feelings for me, the emotional confession broke me out of it. I was gonna kill her, painfully, I could see that by the position we were in when she snapped me out of it" Stefan had tears running down his cheeks at this point, Damon still refused to look up from the floor.

Katherine broke the tense silence, " Damon heard her confession and assumed she was telling the truth. He was packing when I found him and Stefan showed up minutes later. They were just about to destroy the house with there epic fight."

Bonnie huffed, "Acting like this, in this situation is gonna get you all killed, quickly. So listen up, I know my best friend and I am going to set everyone straight. Damon, pull you head out of you ass, Elena fucking loves you. In a way that I have never seen before, a way I didn't know existed. Stefan, she is always gonna love you, you were her first love, but she is not in love with you. Before today she wanted to be your friend, and will probably forgive you now that she knows you were compelled. But I promise that is she wakes up alone, she is going to feel worse than she already does. Which is pretty fucking bad." And on that note, she turned on her heel and walked out of the Boarding house and back to her car. No one followed.

A.N. How is that for an explanation? I apologize if you were one of the reviewers who didn't like the way the story went last chapter. Let me know what you think and where you would prefer to see it go..Thank you all for sticking with me. Love Ashley.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A.N. Wow, I really suck at this whole writing thing lately. I'm really sorry. I just can't really figure out where I want these stories to go. Each of them seem to be stuck in these huge moments that will make or break the story. Plus writers block has kinda taken over. Anyways, enough with the excuses, on with the show….

The darkness that had become my life was all encompassing. At this point the darkness had become normal. My parents had died because of me, Stefan was in pain because I loved his brother, and Damon was in pain because he thought I loved Stefan. Katherine and I seemed to be destined to spend eternity as pets to a sadistic all powerful vampire. I'd been attacked twice in the last twenty four hours by someone I had once loved. The things that added to the darkness in my life seemed to be stacking up since the arrival of Stefan and Katherine. Now Damon's heartache became the icing on the cake of oblivion.

Then there was the darkness of unconsciousness. It seemed that my body and mind had taken all it could manage for the time being. The world didn't exist outside of the blackness of my mind and for the longest time it was peaceful. It was peaceful right up until the time my mind turned on me. Then I was falling. I was falling to my death and there was nothing I could do about it. I was going to die inside of the stress my mind created and I would never be able to tell Damon how sorry I was, how much I loved him and always had.

Elena had been asleep for hours since he had arrived. Minutes after Bonnie had left Damon had stoked up on a blood supply and a few pairs of clothes and moved into Elena's bedroom. He was prepared to await his sleeping beauty. He watched her toss and turn in the small bed, the first few hours had passed peacefully but it had taken a turn during hour 5. She has started to writhe and shake, mumbling "I'm sorry" in her sleep multiple times. Once he noticed her change he realized she was no longer resting and moved to sit with her on the bed. As if unconsciously accepting his presence, she rolled to the side of the bed encouraging him to lie down next to her and hold her. So that is exactly what he did, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her back into his chest. As soon as he settled around her he noticed the tear trails rolling down her face. He couldn't witness her pain anymore.

He moved his lips closely to her ear and softly whispered her name. She gasped as soon as her name left his lips, her eyes immediately flew open and she stiffened in his embrace.

"Damon" she whispered into the dark. He pulled her closer in response and softly kissed her neck. She sobbed, "I'm so sorry. I didn't have a choice. I love you so much."

He sighed, "I know, Stefan told me everything. I'm sorry I believed it so easily. I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you."

She moved like she was trying to roll over to face him, undoubtedly to argue with him about his apology, he held her closer, "Elena, I will be here when you are rested. Go back to sleep my love." She relaxed against him and quickly fell into a deeper sleep than before. One that existed without darkness and falling, but one of light and love and the most piercing ice blue eyes she had ever seen. It was all she ever needed.

* * *

Hours later the sun was visible through the slightly open window, Elena woke up alone in her bed. She had no idea how long she had been asleep but it felt like a small eternity. She gasped as she realized what her night had consisted of. She remembered the falling and the loneliness while she floated through the dark. Then she remembered the warmth and the love that came with just his presence. His smell, his voice, and his embrace had all felt so real.

Her eyes filled with tears when she realized that is had been no more than a dream. Damon was still out there somewhere, miserable, stuck believing that everything they had ever shared was a lie. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and go back to her dream land. Go back to his arms protectively wrapped around her, his breath on her neck, his voice relieving all of the tension in her body.

Then she heard it, all the voices radiating up the stairs. A female voice was raised and another strong male voice was trying to calm her. She seemed to get more familiar with the voices as she focused. When she finally heard him she bolted up from her bed, tripped around her room and trampled down the stairs.

The living room was full of people, full of her family. But in that moment she only cared about the presence of one. She stared into his breathtaking icy blue eyes and he gave her a heart stopping smile. Without a second to spare she ran at him and threw her arms around his neck, tears once again traveling down her cheeks. He lifted her up off the floor and held her against him, both of them feeling complete for the first time in what felt like forever.

She placed her face in the crook of his neck and felt her body relax as she breathed in his scent. "I woke up alone and I thought it had all been a dream" she whispered against his neck. This was the moment he seemed to realize that the whole room, full of the "save the doppelganger" rescue team was focused on there every word. He then sped them back up the stairs to her room; he shut the door and firmly placed her against it.

On instinct Elena wrapper her legs around his hips effectively pulling him closer to her. He softly kissed up and down her neck and she sighed in response. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. If it were up to me we would still be cuddled in bed" she felt him smile against her neck. Only she could get Damon Salvatore to admit that he cuddled, by choice.

She shook her head quickly, "I'm sorry for everything that happened yesterday. You have to know that it killed me to cause you that kind of pain. I love you so much and I hate myself for making you doubt that." He silenced her the only way he could think of, a searing kiss that left tingles in her fingers and toes.

He pulled away from her slowly and locked eyes with her, "How about a compromise? You don't feel bad for what you said to help Stefan and I will try not to feel guilty for leaving you alone and unprotected." She nodded her head in agreement quickly. She unlocked her legs from his waist and slowly slid down his body. He groaned at the subtle contact and a small fire in her seemed to ignite inside her. She wanted nothing more than to pull him back into bed pull the covers over their heads and ignore the world for as long as humanly possible.

"So what's the likelihood of us being able to get away with taking off out the window, locking ourselves in your bedroom and forgetting about anything but us for the day?" she asked with a smirk. He returned her smirk with a genuine smile and she could see the wheels turning in his head. He was formulating a plan.

"As much as I love that plan, I don't think we will be able to get away with it just yet," her lips formed a pout he considered illegal before he could finish his sentence. "Please don't pout at me like that, I can't take it. It feels like forever since I got to just be with you. There is a room full of people downstairs who are worried about you and a witch with a very informative Grimoire. We have things that need to be taken care of in order to guarantee that I get to keep you for eternity and I want nothing more than to order a private jet and take you away from all this but we are running out of time and options" she stared at him in partial shock. Damon was rambling. The most sure footed confident person she had ever met was rambling like a scared teenager. That pulled her out of her lust induced haze quickly.

"I'm not going anywhere Damon. My place is right here by your side for eternity. No one is going to take that from us okay?" she tried her very best to be confident enough to convince him that his fears were unnecessary.

He huffed and hid his face in her dark brown locks, holding her closely against him, "I'm just scared of being without you" he confessed into her neck. She shuddered and her heart swelled at his honesty.

They sat in silence for a few minutes just holding each other. As Elena started to calm down from the excitement the morning consisted of, she started to realize that she wasn't in as great of shape physically as she had previously thought. As she pulled away from Damon and caught a glimpse of her self in the mirror she saw the purple bruises that had formed on her neck, wrists and chest. One of her legs was also sore from being dropped on the kitchen floor during the first attack. The pain seemed to hit her like a ton of bricks once the stress over Damon had subsided. He released her for a second and she wobbled on her feet.

He growled as he assessed her injuries. The animal inside of him was screaming for vengeance against the person that had harmed his soul mate. "Elena, can I give you blood now? The bruises are so much worse this time" he asked slowly. She didn't know if Stefan's attacks had changed her outlook on blood or vampires in general. He was worried his true nature would scare her away now that she had seen first hand what they were capable of.

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. Otherwise, I'll be spending all day in bed recuperating" she didn't seem to shy away from him. Without another word, he bite into his wrist and offered it to her. She drank from him quickly, reveling in the emotions she was hit with. She felt his love and devotion, his fear, shame and worry but mostly she felt shock and acceptance in that moment. His blood tasted sweeter than anything she had ever experienced. The taste made her finally understand how blood could be an acceptable sustenance for eternity.

When he pulled his wrist away she licked her lips flirtatiously. He could tell that the blood was just what she needed to feel better, her injuries had healed quickly and she seemed surer on her feet. She linked her arms around his neck and held him to her, "why did I feel mostly shock and acceptance when I tasted your blood?" she whispered while placing her head on his chest.

He stiffened next to her, "you could feel that?" She raised her head and locked eyes with him, "Yeah, was I not supposed to?"

He shrugged, "I've never heard of it happening when the exchange only went one way. That's normal when we are both ingesting but I didn't think it was possible without both. It's supposed to be part of the connection."

She nodded in understanding, "Okay that's weird but your still avoiding the original question Damon. Explain please."

He chuckled lightly at her reaction, "I was just worried that maybe you might feel differently about my nature now that Stefan has taken the initiative to show you what vampires are capable of."

She looked up into his deep blue eyes, "I know better than anyone that you are not Stefan. I mean Stefan wasn't even Stefan when he attacked me. I am not scared of you Damon, you better just get used to it already" she smiled lightly before letting him go and walking over to her dresser.

She grabbed an outfit for the day and walked into the bathroom, without shutting the door she placed her clean clothes on the counter and quickly started to shed the pajamas that Jenna had placed her in the day before.

Damon watched her every move as she started the shower and slowly pulled off her very short shorts and panties. Then she quickly pulled her tank top over her head. His eyes scanned her frame hungrily as she stepped into the hot shower and a moan escaped her lips at the soothing feeling. He knew he had two options: he could decide to be the focused adult and leave her to her shower so that they could finally hear what the Grimoire had to say, or he could spend the next hour in that shower showing her how much he missed her last night.

Damon's whole body screamed at him to pick the second choice. To claim his mate while he still had the time but his head told him to go back downstairs so they could finally asses to the situation that was rapidly approaching them. He needed to make keeping her safe his number one priority so he could get lost in moments like these later, so he could stop thinking that it could be their last moments together.

He slowly walked to the clear shower door and slightly slid it open, she smirked over at him. "You are so going to pay for this later you tease" he joked to her. She turned to face him head on fully soaked from head to toe, nipples hard and completely ready for him. Slowly she slid her hand down her chest, between her breasts and towards the apex of her legs, "a tease doesn't intend to follow through Damon. I think you would be considered the tease here since I'm horny and soaking wet in a couple different ways and you are making no move to shed your clothes and join me" she taunted.

He tilted his head back and groaned to the ceiling. She was pulling out all the stops right now and his control was going to snap if he didn't get out of here, "I promise my love, we will have all night. But today I need to be focused on making sure we have eternity" he confessed, his voice soft and kind.

Without looking back at the pout he was positive she had to be visible on her face, he closed the bathroom door behind him and went downstairs to wait for her with the rest of the people who loved her.


	8. Chapter 8

Elena quietly moved down the stairs 20 minutes later, showered, freshly clothed and blow dried. Her hair was down and carelessly wavy and she was dressed in flattering skinny jeans, a black t-shirt and black and white Converse All Stars.

She went as slow as possible down the stairs trying to take in what everyone was saying while she wasn't present. Elena focused on the voices in the room, she could definitely hear Alaric and Damon talking in the kitchen, Jena and Caroline seemed to be trying to get information out of Bonnie and Jeremy kept telling them to calm down in the living room. Nothing vital was being explained without her involvement which left her relieved.

She continued down the stairs, she walked through the kitchen to grab Damon's hand. He let her pull him out of the kitchen and to the empty chair in the corner that the whole room seemed to be organized around. He sat in the chair and he quickly pulled her down onto his lap, neither one wanting to be away from the other right now, or ever.

Once situated on Damon's lap she gave her family a reassuring smile and they all seemed to release a common breath. Bonnie cleared her throat, "how are you feeling Elena?" she asked quietly, no one really knew how to check on her after the events of yesterday. No one really knew what to make of Stefan attacking her twice in one day whether under compulsion or not. Elena sighed slightly, "I am feeling much better this morning. I just really wanna know what's going on so we can figure out a plan and stop worrying. I can think of so many better ways we could all spend today. "

Damon's frame stiffened underneath her, he definitely agreed with her statement. She turned around to face him, "where is Katherine?" she quietly asked.

Damon raised his eyebrows at her, "she is taking care of her new pet. Stef is back in the basement and she is on watch to make sure he can't get out with the help of who was compelling him. Queue mystery number one."

She raised her eyebrows right back at him, "well then, I'm going to get myself some food and we will reconvene at the boarding house in an hour" she started walking towards the kitchen.

"But Elena, you aren't safe at the boarding house" Caroline blurted to the room. Jenna stood to follow Elena, "what do you mean she isn't safe in the boarding house?" Jenna asked in panic.

Bonnie stood as well, "Elena you have to stay here. The boarding house is owned by vampires. Anyone can get into it. At least here you are protected from those we don't know about yet" she tried to reason.

Elena looked over at Damon, he nodded slowly. "Actually," he broke the tension, "Elena and I were talking and I think we are going to place the boarding house in her name. If we give her ownership then it will be safe until she is turned. Then she and I will stay there with Stefan and Katherine. This whole scenario only affects the four of us. There is no need to drag the rest of you into this. If anything goes wrong and any of you are harmed Elena and I would be devastated" he explained, much to the shock of the entire room.

Damon then looked over to Caroline, "Barbie, can you help Elena pack some things and be her body guard until I get back. I'm gonna go grab the paperwork for the house and warn Katherine that the rescue team is invading" she nodded obediently, honored that he trusted her with Elena's protection and ultimately his heart. Damon sped out the door after a quick glance in Elena's direction.

Jenna stood, "Well I may not be able to cook but I can sure make a sandwich. Who wants some lunch?" she didn't wait for a response, she just directed herself to the kitchen quickly. Ric followed mumbling something about supervising the sandwich making.

Elena noticed that Bonnie and Jeremy seemed to be engaged in a silent conversation and Caroline had fallen into body guard mode just like Damon had asked. She smiled to her vampire best friend and looked over to her witch best friend, "Bonnie, I know you won't tell me anything until we get to the boarding house but can I just ask you one thing?" Bonnie nodded in agreement.

Elena huffed, "After reading everything you have in the Grimoire. Do you think we can all survive this?"

Bonnie smiled softly, rising from the couch she moved to hug Elena, "You will posses powers that Damon and Caroline could only dream about once you are turned. I think that if we stay together on this we will survive anything" she reassured.

Elena felt a huge weight leave her shoulders and a wave of excitement wash over her. She knew that for once she would finally be able to be the defender instead on the victim. After the vague conversation with Bonnie Elena felt slightly better about her situation, soon they would know what the Grimoire had to say, they would form a plan and kill Gabriel and she would be left with an eternity with Damon.

An hour or so later after packing her clothes and personals and eating a long over due lunch, Elena was sitting in the library of the boarding house waiting for Bonnie's explanation. The entire group was present this time, Damon and Elena were cuddled on one couch, Katherine stood alone against one of the farther wall, Jenna and Alaric sat on their own couch with Jeremy. Caroline seemed to pick the chair farthest from the group and definitely the farthest from Katherine. Bonnie stood at the center of the room, the Grimoire sitting on the table in front of her.

Bonnie exhaled heavily, like she was already exhausted just thinking about the explanation. "So here is what I have found so far, and it all seems to revolve around Elena, Damon and Katherine. Obviously, Elena is the true key though. The most interesting thing I found was what is going to happen when she turns, as long as Katherine's blood is in her system when she turns, she will have the strength of her doppelganger. It will be as if she was created at the same time as Katherine."

She paused for a second trying to let everyone soak in that bombshell, Elena was truly going to be Katherine's equal. Damon stiffened underneath her, she could tell that the news was bugging him but she could not pin point why.

"So Katherine will have to sire her?" Damon asked quietly. He didn't make eye contact with anyone in that moment. Bonnie smiled softly at him, understanding his sullen attitude, "I said Katherine's blood has to be in her veins, not that Katherine had to be the soul sire. To complete the transition, and max out all of her potential ability she will need the blood of her doppelganger and the blood of her soul mate running through her veins."

At this Katherine broke her long standing silence and snorted in the quiet room, "Soul mates? Seriously Bennett. We are wasting our time with this?"

Bonnie smirked at her, "Katherine, if you are raising your eyebrows at soul mates then you are going to pass out cold after you hear some of this. Plus I have a way to prove that soul mates are exactly what they are."

That caught Elena and Damon's undivided attention, "How?" they said in unison.

Bonnie filled to a marked page in the "witches cook book" to the page listed "Per Condividere Un'anima". Damon was the first to react, "to share a soul" he murmured before looking back at Elena. That was the only part listed in Italian, the rest was in an unreadable gibberish that Bonnie had perfected.

She took a large shallow dish from her bag; it was a deep gold color and placed in on the table in the middle of the room. "If anyone has recently developed a aversion to blood, whether it be human or other wise, I recommend you leave the room." A few people looked at Caroline before she sneered at them, there was no way she was going to miss a second of this.

Bonnie then took out a sharp dagger with a whittled wooden age. The blade gleamed in the dim lit room. Elena stepped up to her best friend, no explanation needed. She extended her hand to the young witch who made a deep gash into her the young doppelgangers hand. Elena hissed in pain but let Bonnie direct her over the long basin. Elena crimson blood seeped out of her hand onto one side of the dish. The whole room was quiet except for the steady dripping of the liquid.

Once Bonnie found the amount sufficient she wrapped Elena's hand in a white cloth and moved to the vampire. She repeated the process with Damon's hand; his blood was carefully placed on the opposite side of the basin. The amount of blood from each person was enough to fill a small vile; each puddle sat a foot away.

Bonnie then stared the book down before murmuring what the room only assumed was a spell. As her foreign words continued they watched the two puddles of blood slowly form a traveling line. They watched it slowly meet in the middle before the lifeblood of the lovers started to swirl around each other in a circle. The blood completely merged together and formed the darkest crimson they had ever seen.

As the movement stopped and Bonnie's words slowly ended, they watched the liquid get brighter. The two bloods had become one. Bonnie then cleared her voice, "the spell explains that the blood of soul mates would become forever intermingled. The blood of an attempt would travel to opposite sides of the basin without touching. The brighter the combination becomes once combined makes for a stronger connection".

The whole room remained completely still, Damon and Elena's gaze never broke. They were both wishing for the people occupying the room to disappear and leave them to there revelry. The quietness of the room was starting to make a few people uncomfortable; Caroline broke the silence, "So I'm assuming that proved what we all already knew. They were made for each other" she concluded, like it was common knowledge. Her reaction made Damon smile, "see, I've been trying to tell her that since I got here" the room chuckled lightly at his joke.

Katherine was the next to break the silence, " So now that we have figured that part out. What's the rest of the plan?" she asked impatiently. The seemed to put everyone back into focus.

Everyone seemed to nod to themselves before looking at Bonnie to continue. "The rest of the process should be relatively simple. Once Elena has transitioned we can go to work on the trapping spell and then we will need to rehearse the incantation that weakens an original long enough for the "doppelganger twins: to destroy him".

She seemed to rush through the rest of the explanation, much to everyone's aggravation.

"Bonnie wait, there has to be more information than that. Stop trying to make it sound easy, I would rather be stressed out and informed than calm and clueless" Elena concluded. Damon moved to stand behind her; she leaned back into him without any further encouragement.

Damon spoke up from behind her, "it sounds like the next thing that needs to happen is Elena's transition" he explained in a solemn voice.

Bonnie nodded, "Unfortunately, the sooner she turns and adapts to the transition the better. She needs to be as comfortable as Katherine with fighting, more than anything she needs to be aware of her strength. Just because she will have Katherine's control when it comes to blood, doesn't mean she will be able to deal with the strength over load. Not to mention the soul mate abilities that I can't even pin point. She will be the most powerful of all of us, but if she can't harness the power and control it then we are as good as dead".

Elena was torn between being terrified and ecstatic; she was going to be a completely different person, another step closer to Katherine, but also becoming the key to saving everyone she loves.

Alaric was the next to speak up, "So once Elena turns, what's the plan?"

Damon took the opportunity to regain control of the conversation, "Well, you and little Gilbert will be put to use making more vampire killing tools. Katherine and Elena will be training with me, Barbie and hopefully Stef". He felt Elena shutter at Stefan's name but did not acknowledge it. "We all need to be on our toes for a while" he concluded.

Elena spoke up after he finished, "Bonnie, you said something about an Original vampire last night before I blacked out. What did you mean?"

Bonnie then sighed," My information is pretty limited because it's Emily's account of what she heard from Katherine and Pearl, so it would probably be more beneficial if Katherine could contribute something".

"Yeah, aside from her smartass mouth" Damon added quickly.

Katherine sighed to the group, "Well, I guess I need to do something to prove my team spirit. Gabriel is an original vampire. He was one of the first, in a family of originals. Don't ask me how they came about; I never got that close to figure it out. When I was human he came after me. Him and one of his brothers, whom he treated like a hence man, had been traveling the world for centuries looking for the doppelganger. They found me, they turned me and then I ran like hell. They treated capturing me like a victory. It was like they were in a race to find me against some other all-powerful being. I ran until 1864 when I figured out how to fake my own death".

Damon interrupted her there, "this is where I ruin everything and open the tomb".

Katherine signed, "Exactly, then I've been hearing that they have been killing everyone I have ever turned. They are sending a message. The most important things to remember are: they can compel anything not drinking vervain. Only a certain kind of wood will hurt them and they will come looking for Damon and Stefan as the next in line to kill and find Elena. Once they find Elena and realize its not me he will want us both. He will want us as trophies against the person he originally was racing to get to me. Other than that I have no idea what he wants me for".

"So does this mean I'm on that list too?" Caroline asked timidly.

Katherine seemed taken aback for a second, "Yes, my blood runs in Damon's veins. So you can be tied to me just like Damon and Stefan, Elena will be as well when she turns."

Elena sighed heavily, "It seems that is the next step." Jenna and Alaric shared a sullen look at her reaction. They knew this would have been Elena's fate eventually so she could be with Damon but they also knew she wanted more time as a human. Jenna walked to her niece, "You have to be the bravest person I know" she gave her a tight hug and felt Elena hug back hard.

They wrapped up a few minutes later, Jenna and Ric made a quick exit after explanations finished. Katherine went back to sitting with Stefan and Caroline went to pack her things so she could move into one of the spare rooms until things settled down. That left Damon and Elena with Jeremy and Bonnie.

Elena went into the kitchen to make her self a drink with what Damon considered the "chick liquor" that didn't belong in his wet bar. He followed her slowly.

"How are you holding up? You know impending doom and all" he tried to sound light about it but his voice obviously didn't know that.

She kept her back to him, "It's not impending doom Damon, it's the only way to avoid it". She heard him sigh and lean into the counter next to her. He wasn't touching her and Elena felt like something had changed with them since that morning.

"You don't want this Elena", he concluded.

"That's not true and you know it. In my mind I always thought we would have more time. I would have more time to be human. I mean I'm gonna be jail bait for all of eternity. But this was going to happen anyways, its just sooner than I expected, that's all" she seemed to spend too much time convincing him.

She finally turned to look at him when he didn't respond. "It is a time thing because of me? You want more time to be sure of me?" he whispered to the tile in front of her feet. She could see the venerability screaming in his liquid blue eyes.

Elena couldn't help but wrap her arms around his waist, it was in her nature to comfort him, "You are the one thing I am most sure about in this whole thing. I just thought we would have more time to just be us before I became this different person. I feel like I'm just taking another step in the direction of being Katherine."

He backed out of her embrace, "How many times do I have to tell you? You are not Katherine. You could never be Katherine" she didn't react to his replayed words. She still didn't believe them, but she didn't want to fight with him.

"So who's name are we gonna put the house in since I'm not gonna be human much longer?" she asked. He seemed to think for a minute, "Well, I have the paperwork ready. We could give it to Jeremy" he suggested. Then he took off to retrieve the paperwork, he threw it down on the coffee table in the living room.

From there on the day seemed to blur by. Jeremy became the rightful owner of the boarding house and had to re-invite all the current vampire residents. That included the task of removing Stefan from his cell long enough to invite him into the house again. Elena did her best to stay away from that situation.

She tried to relax in the library with another drink but she just couldn't calm down. Damon and her were barely speaking and she didn't know why, she had to plan out her transition and she couldn't stop wondering who had gotten to Stefan.

Elena pretended to read the book in her lap but her mind wouldn't focus. She was contemplating moving her things into another bedroom in the house and taking a nap. Since the soul mate reveal Damon seemed contently distant and it was slowly driving her crazy.

She hated it but he was her biggest weakness. She walked into his room to find him staring out the window with a drink in his hand. She crumpled to the floor against the doorframe, "what did I do?" she whispered.

He sat on the floor, under the window, directly across from her. The entire room of space between them seemed to be an accurate metaphor. "You didn't do anything. This whole situation is just taking a toll, that's all".

They didn't look at each other, only the floor in front of them. "Taking a toll?" she questioned, "No one is asking you to die for this Damon. This is all on me" she countered.

Her anger seemed to radiate off of her, he could feel it across the room, "It's all on you? Are you fucking kidding? If anything happens to you I'm done for. Think about this Elena, how are you going to die so you can transition? I'm gonna have to kill you. I am also going to have to sit there with your body hoping that I gave you enough blood, hoping that you will come back to me". He threw the empty glass at the wall to his left and they heard it shatter.

"I will have to go against every instinct I have and I will have to cause your death. I am going to make you the one thing I never really wanted to be" his voice seemed to loose its strength as he continued.

She stood to sit in front of him, "You don't want this for me?" the question hung in the air.

"Elena, I don't want this for anyone. Especially the one person I love more than life itself".

Her tears hit the hard wood floor audibly; "You know that without me doing this I would be sentencing everyone we love, including each other, to death. There would now way to avoid it" she reasoned.

He didn't react; he just continued to stare at the floor.

Her anger grew dramatically, "I am not going to waste my time caring about your newly found issues with your vampirism. I dealt with that enough with Stefan. He didn't want me for eternity either. I will do this without you if I have to" she stood then and walked to her bag. She wordless left his bedroom with her bag in hand and locked herself in the farthest spare bedroom she could find.

INSERT LINE

Elena sat in the middle of her bed trying to understand how things had fallen so far so fast. The day before had been hell but the morning showed promise for the future. Damon freaking out had halted all of her plans. She could usually read him so well, she was sure he loved her. That morning his exact words had been "I need to make sure we have eternity" but now he had turned 180 degrees.

It had been hours since she left his room and she had heard no movement in the house since.

Then she heard the footsteps, then a knock at her door.

" 'Lena, open the door please" he begged in his partially drunken state. She didn't move. She did hear his back slide down her door.

Elena stood from the bed and matched his actions, her back resting against the door.

"When I woke up this morning, I wasn't certain as to whether or not I still had a soul" he explained, "I thought the whole "soulless vampire" stereotype sounded about right in my case. But then I watched our blood fuse together in that bowl and I learned that not only did I have a soul but also that you were the other half of it. I guess that explains why you make me feel human again. Realizing that you rely on me as much as I rely on you was the part that made me snap. I rely on you to keep me together more than you could ever know. With out you I am nothing more that a bastard devil wanna-be with sharp teeth, that runs from the guilt and the pain. I just can't stand the idea of you hating me for eternity for making you this. I love you too much to reduce it to that". She started to sob on the other side of the door.

He heard her stand and click the lock on the door, he was up and waiting before the door fully swung open. Her hand moved to caress his face softly, his eyes closed at the contact. She slowly moved her hand down to his heart. She could feel the faint beat inside, " All I want is this. I would do anything, be anything, to stay with you for eternity. Because I know that as long as I have you, I will always be me."

The rest of her thoughts halted when he held her in a searing kiss that she could feel in her toes. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers tangling in his dark hair, pulling him closer. He slowly tilted his head and ran his tongue along her bottom lip. She didn't hesitate to allow him entrance, he owned her just like she owned him. Her feet left the ground as he lifted her. They left the entry way to the spare bedroom and he ran them to his room at top speed, her legs securely fastened around his waist and her lips fused to his.

Once they reached his room, the slam of the door was heard through the whole house. The click of the lock followed seconds later.

A.N. Hey guys, I hope you missed me. I'm trying to make up for the absence with some length. Let me know what you think. Please and thank you-Ashley


	9. AN I'm alive

AN

Hey guys,

I know, I'm in big trouble. It's been wayyyy too long and you have completely lost faith in me as a writer and I suck. Believe me, I know. So I wanted to take a minute to let you know I am not bailing out on you guys. I am currently working on the end of Aftermath and am still waiting for the inspiration to hit on After the Fire. I promise, both will be completed, eventually.

I hope you guys don't hate me. I've recently gone back to school so that accounts for a lot of my time right now. But the updates are coming.

Follow me on Twitter and I will fill you in on how the updates are looking. Jukeboxhero2482.

Much love,

Ashley


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